Serendipity
by CarefullyReckless
Summary: Serendipity is defined as the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Through a chain of interesting encounters, Seth does whatever it takes to impress Sasha and she soon learns than he never had to try.
1. Chapter 1

She still didn't get what people saw in her. Her Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram was flooded daily with messages from her fans, affectionately dubbed the Sasha Krew, telling her how much they adored her and were inspired by the Boss. If only they knew how far "The Boss" was from her actual personality. Of course, she was always sassy and sarcastic with an affinity for telling people what's true but all the bling was just for the ring.

Sasha pushed her glasses up on her nose and kept perusing the questions sent to her during her current Twitter Q&A. One was particularly interesting. A fan had asked her who's a wrestler that started in NXT but transitioned to the main roster that she admired. Her response was immediate, "Seth Rollins, that's a no brainer. #RealBossesKnowWhatsTrue." They didn't know each other particularly well. He left NXT before she really hit her stride as a performer and became the boss. However, she respected his hustle due to the fact that he was currently the most successful NXT alumni on the main roster and the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

She ended the Q&A and shut her laptop and thought nothing more of it.

* * *

Sasha fixed the collar on her jacket and slid on her Legit Boss rings then proceeded to pat the NXT Women's Championship. It was the night before Summerslam at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. She was set to drop the title tonight to Bayley thus setting up her last match in NXT where she'd unsuccessful cash in her rematch clause. Then, she would exclusively be a main roster WWE Diva. The Four Horsewomen, as she, Charlotte, Becky, and Bayley called themselves, had lunch earlier and shared their excitement over tonight. Sasha left early, needing time to reflect on her time as champ and prepare for the match. Even though the night would end in an L, she was ready to put on an instant classic. It was bittersweet but Sasha was ecstatic for Bayley and excited to continue to dominate on Raw and Smackdown. But NXT...the NXT Universe...the NXT Womens Championship...it was her life, her baby for so long. NXT had been good to her and was a female wrestler's dream. She was respected, loved, hated, feared, and idolized all at the same time. Very few women in the WWE recieved the type of crowd reaction that she enjoyed every night. With that thought in mind, Sasha smirked as she walked to gorilla and put her shades on for the last time as the NXT Women's Champion.

* * *

Bayley nearly crushed her ribs in a hug when she returned backstage, holding the title belt with Sasha's name still on the plate. It was actually quite painful due to the fact that they had just beaten the hell out of each other but emotions and adrenaline ran high enough to ignore it at the moment. Sasha usually wasn't one for excessive hugging but this was Bayley, it wasn't just a gimmick. The girl really liked to hug. Sasha couldn't believe it but she was crying and so was Bayley. She knew they looked a mess to any bystanders, crying and hugging, hugging and crying, but she didn't care. They had made it. This is why they worked so hard. They did it for the girls who didn't look like models but had burning passion and desire to make a difference no matter how many people told them no.

"Thank you so much Sasha." Bayley released her and adjusted her ponytail which had gotten droopy. They both spotted a production assistant approaching to get that nameplate changed and take photos of the new champion. Bayley looked to Sasha for approval, unsure of whether or not to leave her.

She knew this situation all too well. Just a few months ago it had been Charlotte in her position, watching her eyes gleam in excitement. "It's fine. Go, have fun tonight, kiss a cute boy, get drunk, hug a mailman. It's your night, enjoy it." Sasha said.

Bayley beamed and hugged her one last time, uttering another enthusiastic thank you before turning on her heel and setting off, eager to formally begin her reign as champion.

Sasha headed to the locker room which was hopefully empty so she could get dressed and head to her hotel as soon as possible and get a LOT of sleep before Summerslam the next day.

Somebody grabbed her arm and she swiveled around, her eyes resting on Seth Rollins. His usually drenched hair was dry and quite poofy with the remaining patch of blonde on display. He didn't bring his title belt tonight, probably because he wasn't set to make an on camera appearance until the next day.

"You're amazing." he said and her eyes almost bugged out of her head. Had he seen her? Her hair was a mess all over her head, mascara had ran and dried, while her lipstick was smeared. Not to mention, she was lacking the championship gold that she had grown so accustomed to. Once he registered the words that had tumbled out of his mouth, his eyes widened too and he quickly unclasped her arm. He thought he had only said that in his head and now he sounded like a creep. "That's not what I meant to say, I mean you are amazing but what I meant to say is that I'm a fan of yours as well. That match, all of your matches to be honest, just exudes charisma and passion. I know we've never talked much before but I just wanted to tell you I'm a fan."

Sasha's eyebrows furrowed in confusion until she faintly recalled the Twitter Q&A from the night before. She chuckled and replied "I can't believe you even saw that but I appreciate it Mr. Rollins." Sasha smiled then grimaced as the soreness in her back from the Bayley to Belly suplex she's taken earlier started to set in. "Despite how amazing I may think I am, I'm assuming you came to see the entire show and there's an awesome main event coming up so see you around Seth", she politely ended the conversation and turned around with all intentions of walking off with no set plans to speak to him again.

Seth mentally kicked himself and wondered why he sounded so much like a creepy old man. A better question was if this was how she curved guys with friendly intentions, how hard did she curve guys with romantic intentions? Seth planned on licking his wounds and was turning around to go and catch the main event when she grabbed his arm, dropping it when she was sure she had his attention.

She grabbed a pen off a nearby table and reached for Seth's left hand. He offered it and opened it with his palm facing up. Without a word or telling facial expression, she wrote her number against the lines of his hands, capping the pen when she was finished before walking away for good.

Seth was awestruck. Never had he met a girl who said so little but was so sure of herself. She had actually rendered him speechless. Almost 45 minutes passed and he watched the main event half-heartedly with his mind focused on Sasha. When would be an appropriate time to actually call or text her? More than likely, he was on thin ice after the "amazing" blurt and he couldn't afford to seem any creepier. However, if he waited too long, she might think he was making fun of her earlier and feel too forward for giving him her number.

Finn Balor finally came backstage after a successful title defense. His body paint was smeared and messy at this point but his Irish charm was at its peak with his bright smile and eyes that resembled a clear lake. Seth immediately went to shake his hand and realized too late that he had shook with the hand that Sasha's number was on and Finn was mighty sweaty. He made small talk with Finn even though he freaked out internally and when they finally parted, he checked his hand for the state of the number he absolutely did not deserve.

It had smeared in places but was still faintly legible. Seth pulled out his phone to put in the number before it completely rubbed away. He was one of those people who didn't go to the Contacts app to add a new number to his phone but instead used Messages. He typed in all ten digits but then accidentally put a space in the text message field. Then in another grand mistake, he clicked send instead of backspace.

How could this night be so great and awful at the same time? An awesome girl, THE awesome girl had named him as someone she admired even though they'd never said more than 10 words to each other. Secondly, he was able to speak to that same awesome girl and stuck his foot in his mouth which was quite rare and she still gave him her number. Then, he had to screw it all up by sending her a blank message from what she'd see as an unknown number. Now he had to text her even though it was a mere 45 minutes since they had first spoken so she didn't think he was a prank caller or something.

* * *

 _Seth's texts are in italic_. _**Sasha's texts are in bold-italic**_.

Sasha balled up the bag that had held up the Chick-Fil-A sandwich meal she picked up after she left the arena soon after her match. She didn't have the heart to stick around for the whole show and Triple H had granted her permission to leave early. The makeshift basketball was shot into the trash can in her hotel room and made it in.

"BANKSHOT!" she pumped her fist in excitement before remembering that no one was around. Technically, Sasha was rooming with Becky but she knew her Irish counterpart was celebrating with Bayley and throwing back beers like it was tap water so she wouldn't be back for a while.

It was only 20 minutes ago when she checked in but her reddish-purple hair was already tied up into a high ponytail and it was goodbye contacts, hello chunky glasses. Tonight wasn't the type of night for her usual Netflix anime marathons. She was planning on being asleep way before Becky came in. As she slipped an oversized NXT t-shirt over her head to sleep in, her phone buzzed. Sasha turned off the lights and settled into the bed to check her messages.

It was an unknown number and it was blank. Well, that was weird. A minute later, another text came from the same number. _Hey Sasha it's Seth. Sorry about the blank text, was trying to save your number & clumsily hit some buttons so don't think I'm a creep lol_

Sasha bit her lip to keep from cheesing way too hard and replied, **_I'm pretty sure all creeps say they're not creeps Mr. Rollins *laughing emoji*_**

Meanwhile in his rental car, Seth finally relaxed his shoulders. She was laughing or at least simulating laughter through cyberspace. That was a good sign. L _ooks like you're just going to have to trust my word on it._ He sent the message and was surprised to immediately see the three dots to indicate that she was already typing.

 _ **Looks like I don't have a choice(:**_ Her reply made him smile, the smiley face was cute just like her. As much as he wanted to continue this conversation all night, he really needed to get out of this parking lot and texting while driving was a no no especially in New York traffic.

 _I'm about to go out with the guys and I'm assuming you'll be asleep when I get to my hotel room around 2 am so I'll talk to you soon?_ Seth put his phone on airplane mode and pocketed it before finally backing out of the parking lot.

Once again, her response was immediate. **_Try sending me a text at 2am and see what happens lol but I'm going to bed now anyway and yes you'll talk to me soon;)_** She smirked after sending what she felt was a bit a sarcasm and automatically assumed that he wouldn't reply again tonight so she put her phone on the charger and went to sleep.

* * *

After a hilarious night of Dean doing terrible karaoke and Roman having to convince drunk people that he was not Thor with a dye job, Seth got back to his room 10 minutes earlier than he originally thought. He took off his shirt and pants and crawled into bed in his boxers with his phone in hand. Now that he didn't need to conserve battery he could take his phone off of airplane mode. Once he did, he saw Sasha's most recent message with the winky face being a nice touch. He smirked, it's only right to give a lady what she asks for.

Sasha heard her phone ding to notify her that she had received a text message. She sighed, angry that she forgotten to put her phone on vibrate again. Her hand patted around the night table until she could feel her glasses and put them on. The clock read exactly 2:01 am. She perched herself up on one elbow and look at the notification on her screen.

 _What happens? :p_

This prompted a hearty laugh from her but still couldn't override the need for sleep. Sasha replied, **_You're a bigger character than the one you play on tv lol goodnight Champ :*_** , and returned to her slumber.

Seth on the other hand was wide awake. He felt like a math geek that just landed the head cheerleader, Sasha Banks just sent him a missy face, albeit a friendly kissy face. In fact, if it was a real kiss it would be on the cheek or the forehead but still, it happened and it was awesome. Seth turned on the tv and sunk back onto the pillows with his fingers interlaced behind his head. The Architect might be building something better than the Shield.

* * *

I haven't written fanfiction in years but a few pairings have been calling out to me and I'm really invested in this fic so I hope you all enjoy :)


	2. Chapter 2

Summerslam had been a success and Seth was stoked. He beat John Cena and retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the crowd was absolutely electric tonight and was hot from the top of the card and would surely be that way until the mega main event. Of course, he was a little disappointed that he and John couldn't main event tonight especially after the clinic they just put on but he accepted it because the fanboy in him was marking out for Undertaker versus Brock Lesnar.

He originally planned on going to catering where he would surely find Dean and Roman but he surprised himself and found his favorite girl(he had surprised himself with how quickly that happened in his head) sitting in a chair at a table, still in her ring gear with a Bullet Club shirt over it that was a tad too large for her. Before he approached her, he stopped and admired her in that moment. Sasha was absentmindedly twirling her extensions around her finger and looking at the screen where the main event between the Undertaker and Brock Lesnar would be beginning soon. Her bottom lip was dry and once again her trademark crimson lipstick was almost completely gone but she was glowing and that alone made her the most enigmatic person he had ever laid eyes on.

The Divas elimination match earlier in the night had received rave reviews already with her and Charlotte being the last two standing and ended in a submission showcase from both ladies before Charlotte used the Natural Selection for the first time on the main roster for an added bonus and was finally able to put Sasha away. Long story short, it was obvious that Sasha Banks was one of the best heels in the business. Period.

In the midst of his drool fest she had become aware of his presence and patted the seat next to her without removing her eyes from the screen. Seth snapped out of his trance quickly and nearly leaped to slide in the seat next to her, banging his knee into the table in the process. Sasha sent a harsh side eye his way but didn't say anything and redirected her attention to the match that had just started. He figured that it was in his best interest to be quiet so he tried to sneak glimpses of her and still stay focused on the long anticipated match unfolding in front of him. She was so into it. A lot of the divas began their wrestling careers because other business ventures hadn't worked out. It was easy to see that Sasha was born for this. She was a true student of the game and her passion really drew him in.

"Gee Rollins, while you were deciphering my hair color just now, the Undertaker totally just stole the Red Arrow," Sasha said. Seth's eyes nearly bugged out of his head before he saw the subtle smirk on her face to indicate that she was joking.

Seth rolled his eyes and spoke, "Very funny, Banks. Very funny."

Sasha only grinned and allowed to let a comfortable silence fall over them as they finished watching the match. When Seth said he was a fan of hers, he wasn't lying. She had to admit that the good morning text from him that awaited her when she opened her eyes was pretty sweet. That text prompted a steady correspondence between them throughout the day, talking about random topics and Seth especially trying to learn a 23 year life story in under 12 hours (Sasha thought that was simultaneously adorable and hilarious). This was their first face to face encounter of the day but they weren't saying much because there really wasn't a need to.

The match and as a result, Summerslam was over before they knew it and it was time to leave. Sasha stood up and stretched out her legs in a slow manner on purpose to try to give Seth time to speak up and ask her if she wanted to do something tonight.

"Did you strain your calf or something earlier tonight?" Seth asked. "You might wanna let the trainers check that out."

Sasha mentally facepalmed herself. It was always the good-looking ones that acted so freaking dumb.

"Yep, that's exactly where I'm gonna go. Looks like that's the only place I'll be heading tonight. Goodnight Rollins," Sasha said and stomped off towards the trainers so he'd think that was where she was headed. Seth seemed to not notice anything wrong with her and simply waved goodbye and left in the opposite direction.

* * *

There was no reason to check out of her hotel since RAW the following night would be at the Barclays Center in New York as well. Sasha appreciated that and was happy to have a weekend of no excessive travel and having some down time. After Seth pissed her off unknowingly, Sasha went to her hotel room soon after and immediately began to get comfortable. It wasn't like she had anywhere to go until the next morning. She washed off her makeup, took her contacts out, and put her hair up, wincing slightly because her arms were a tad sore and she felt it especially when lifting them above her head. A cloth headband around her edges and glasses on her face completed her nerdy look but she finally felt totally in tune with herself. Sasha had just turned on Netflix on her iPad when there was a knock on the door. She opened it without second thought because she was assumed it was Becky wanting to change her outfit or something. It definitely wasn't Becky.

* * *

This was not what he expected when he pulled out of club hopping with his boys tonight to pull over at the first Chinese restaurant he drove past and buy everything he figured that Sasha would love. To be honest, the nonchalant confidence he portrayed to her when he came in was completely feigned. He was still very nervous around her and kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for her to reveal a fatal flaw that completely turned him off but it never happened. Sure, her forehead was a bit big but he loved that and it shocked him that she could shut him up with just a look but he needed a bit of discipline in his life. Still, Seth was only aiming to be her friend. After being wrapped up in scandal recently, he was swearing off women for a while and focusing on his career. However, he felt the need to prove himself to Sasha because he had no idea what kind of awful things she had heard throughout the WWE grapevine but they couldn't have been pretty. She wasn't just a woman, she was the woman and she was awesome at everything she did.

"How's the calf?" Seth said and winked. He stood in front of her door in all of his glory with a plain dark grey t-shirt that was literally stretching across his broad chest, black sweatpants, and a bag of food in his right hand that was producing a rather enticing smell.

"You did that on purpose," Sasha replied and folded her arms across her chest.

"Indeed I did, Ms. Banks. Did you really think I'd aggravate you almost all day just to give you peace after the show? By the way, awesome job tonight, seriously. If my ring gear wasn't so tight, my leg hairs would've stood up," Seth said. As he talked, he breezed past her and came into the room and got comfortable, laying out food on the coffee table. He took his Roku Streaming Stick out of his pocket and put it in the TV which trumped the small screen of her iPad that she was planning on watching.

Sasha rolled her eyes and uttered, "Showoff." She shut the door and sat down next to him on the couch anyway. He did, after all, bring orange chicken and fried rice.

"How about a 'Thanks Seth for the compliment' or 'Thanks Seth for the food' or better yet what about a 'Wow Seth your match was amazing too'?" he joked.

Sasha laughed. "Fine. Thanks Seth and you had a stellar match out there tonight," Sasha replied. "However if you're gonna be insistent on this daily aggravation, I drink anything at Starbucks that's flavored vanilla or green tea."

She may have thought she was joking but Seth had already made a mental note to bring her coffee tomorrow since there was a Starbucks downstairs built into the hotel. Hopefully she'd be in a good enough mood to join him for CrossFit as well.

"Gee, aren't you subtle? But can we watch something already, I'm getting bored looking at you, four eyes," Seth shot back and laughed at the vein currently throbbing in her forehead due to his comment. He picked up the remote with intentions of selecting a movie to watch when she slapped his arm forcefully.

"My room, my rules," Sasha smirked and took the remote, quickly finding the anime section and selecting one of her favorites.

"Alright boss," he replied. Seth had never really watched anime but what Sasha wanted, Sasha got so he kicked off his shoes and slung his legs across the couch, letting the back of his knees drape across her lap which she scoffed at initially but eventually placed her elbows on top of his legs with her chin in her hands. Possibly, just possibly, a bit of aggravation was good for the both of them.

* * *

Seth looked up at the ceiling after watching two episodes of Sailor Moon with Sasha at her request before she fell asleep halfway through the third one. He checked his watch and saw how late that it had gotten and decided he should probably get going. Seth gathered all the empty takeout containers and put them in the trash. Then, he picked up her small body and laid her in the bed he assumed was hers. It would be really awkward if he just plopped her down in Becky's bed. He tiptoed out quietly and left the Roku stick in the TV with the remote for it on the coffee table. Maybe that would teach her to watch Netflix the right way.

* * *

The next day, Sasha woke up quite unaware how she got back into her bed. She looked over to Becky's bed and laughed when she saw messy orange hair sprawled out over the pillow. Sasha decided to give her an extra hour to sleep so she showered and got dressed first with all intents and purposes of going to the gym downstairs in the hotel. When she was about to walk out, she saw that Becky was still asleep.

"GET UP BEX! RISE AND SHINE!" Sasha yelled. To add insult to injury, she pulled the curtains open to allow light to stream in.

"I'm gonna fucking rip your head off, Banks," Becky groaned, really regretting last nights competition with Finn on who could outdrink the other, especially when it was ruled a draw.

Sasha walked over and kissed Becky's forehead and patted her cheek. "Love you too babe, I put two aspirin on the night table. Call Finn to make sure he's awake and make sure you both take showers, you smell like whiskey and I'm assuming he does too," Sasha replied and giggled. Becky and Finn could outdrink almost anyone on the roster and they made one hell of a team.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Seth's Roku stick still in the TV. He was so not getting that back. She checked her phone as she walked out the door and saw a text from Seth awaiting her, basically saying good morning and to keep the stick since he felt sorry for her "elementary ways of watching Netflix". Sasha rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time before she adjusted her gym bag on her shoulder and was about to respond when she walked into someone.

"Fancy seeing you here Rollins...again," Sasha said and noticed the two Starbucks frappuccinos in his hands, one obviously hers because he wasn't a caramel fan and she wasn't exactly craving vanilla bean. She reached for the caramel one but he moved it out of her grasp.

"Ah ah ah, you can have it only if you go to CrossFit with me," Seth responded with a smirk.

"Oh my gosh, you don't play fair. I've heard of that CrossFit you love so much. It's basically hell disguised as a gym," Sasha said. She really was craving some caffeine though and the cup was basically calling her name. Sasha bit her lip as she pondered over it then made the mistake of looking into Seth's puppy dog eyes. She was definitely going to cave. "Fine, fine, fine. Just know if I pass out and/or die, it's on you." She snatched the cup from his hands and he laughed.

"Trust me, you're in good hands," Seth said.

* * *

"I see the light, I see the light. I think I'm dead. Is this what death feels like? Imagine that, death by CrossFit," Sasha moaned. She was currently laying on the floor of the gym Seth had taken her too and looking up at Seth who was standing over her.

"All you see is a missed calling in drama because you're overreacting. You finished the workout and you're still in one piece. Isn't that what matters?" Seth asked.

"Fuck you," Sasha retorted.

Seth chuckled and grabbed her arms to put her onto her feet. "Well for your great sacrifice, let's go get you another frappe. I'm sorry you didn't like it. I assumed if you just tried it, you would get into it," he said. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her face change into an indecipherable expression. "What's wrong?"

"The problem is I actually kind of liked it. Sure my limbs may be half dead but it was the best workout of my life," Sasha said and before she could say anything else, Seth had lifted her up in the air and spinned them around in a circle. He didn't think that she knew how much that simple statement meant to him. CrossFit was one of his greatest passions and he understood that it wasn't for everyone but the fact that she tried it just for him (and Starbucks) and embraced the large piece of his world that he shared with her was huge to him. She squealed in excitement and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. They stopped spinning and Sasha didn't let go and Seth didn't put her down which made for an awkward silence that consisted of them looking into each other's eyes until they both burst out laughing.

"First person to the car chooses the music. On 3...", Seth dared her and Sasha didn't take the bait and shook her head no. They both knew that she was going to get her way regardless. "Fine, can I at least control the radio tonight?"

"I just love how you assume that I'll even want to ride to the next town with you," Sasha said but then looked into Seth's puppy dog eyes and once again caved. "Fine, but you're carrying me to the car."

"You got it boss," Seth grinned.

* * *

I wanted to get this out there to you guys. After this chapter, the story will no longer go in a day by day format. I only did that for chapters 1-2 because WWE is gonna be in Brooklyn for four days straight due to Summerslam Axxess, NXT Takeover, Summerslam, and RAW. I hope you all are happy with this and feel free to follow, favorite, and review. I have BIG plans for this story.


	3. Chapter 3

After that weekend in Brooklyn, things begin to happen quickly. Sasha was very happy and fulfilled with her career. The Divas Revolution was in full swing after Summerslam and nearly a month later at Night of Champions, Charlotte defeated Nikki Bella for the Divas Championship mere days before AJ Lee's 294 day record was broken. Sasha couldn't be prouder of her NXT sister and for once, she was actually going out to celebrate. She hadn't seen Seth since the previous Monday for RAW since they were on different rosters for house show tours for the rest of the week.

Sasha had watched his Night Of Champions match with Sting where he retained the title via DQ due to the Undertaker interfering, hopefully setting up every wrestling fan's dream match. They texted everyday and occasionally talked on the phone when Sasha needed to complain about being done with CrossFit even though she'd faithfully go back the next day or when Seth needed someone to talk to about, well anything. However, she hadn't seen him backstage all night so she left the arena with plans of catching him at RAW the next day.

"I don't feel like the usual drinking and dancing. Let's go do something different, you guys", Sasha exclaimed into her phone to Becky and Charlotte as she stood in the arena parking lot next to her rental car.

"Good thing I happen to know the perfect place to go, huh?" Seth came out of nowhere and said, wheeling his suitcase behind him.

"You didn't even text me this morning, how are you in the position to offer suggestions?" Sasha retorted followed by a smile. After all, she really was happy to see him.

"I totally texted you, look again," Seth responded.

Sasha pulled out her phone and saw that it was on Do Not Disturb all day so she didn't see the text notification from 8:00 am.

"Looks like I owe you one," Sasha nudged him with her elbow and he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her a few inches off the ground and she giggled until he put her down.

"I missed that hyena laugh of yours, babe," Seth said and Sasha laughed again. He had taken to calling her pet names quite often but Sasha assured herself that they didn't mean anything except kind exchanges between friends.

"I missed your greasy hair more, Rollins. You wanna do something fun tonight?" Sasha offered an invitation for him to come out and have fun with her and the girls tonight.

Before he could respond, someone else did.

"Seth, did you find the car yet? I'm ready to go," Zahra Schreiber said when she walked up to them. "Oh, hi." Her eyes fell on Sasha clearly unimpressed by the company that Seth was keeping then her harsh eyes went back to Seth. "Like I said, can we leave now?"

It was largely common knowledge that Seth and Zahra had history due to a scandal involving some nude photographs and Seth's ex-fiancee. Sasha had assumed that when the story hit the internet was end of Seth's relationship with both women. Rumors went around often that Seth was a cheating womanizer but Sasha had never gotten any indication of that, probably because they were just friends. She had seen tweets from fans on her timeline after NXT Takeover: Brooklyn that Seth and Zahra had been sitting together during her match but she didn't pay them any mind. The only thing she paid attention to had was Seth tweeting out that she and Bayley were going to change the game before they even had their first real conversation.

It was slowly becoming common knowledge amongst the roster that Sasha and Seth were friends but no one really knew the extent of their friendship. After all the time they had spent together, it had never crossed her mind that Seth might actually have a girlfriend and it definitely never crossed her mind that Seth, her warm and charming Seth, could love someone who was so cold. The fans hated Zahra and voiced their distaste on social media on a near daily basis due to her more than questionable rude exchanges with fans. Hell, Sasha worked with the girl in NXT and kept her distance because she didn't like negative energy.

Seth suddenly couldn't make eye contact with Sasha and she felt sick, especially when she thought about how he called her "babe" and "sweetheart". Sasha gulped and forced a smile. "Hi. Nevermind what I said. It was good seeing you Seth, Zahra," Sasha murmured before quickly getting into her car and driving off. Screw the finding something new to do, she needed a drink.

* * *

Seth patiently waited outside of Sasha's hotel room the next morning with a green tea frappe in one hand and his phone in the other. He had texted her good morning an hour ago like he always did but she hadn't responded. He knew that he should've told her that he and Zahra were an item now but in all honesty he forgot. With Sasha, he still got starstruck and had genuine fun. Not drinking or partying or suppressing parts of himself to avoid arguments but trying new things, inside jokes, and actually being around with someone else that is rising so high and is still so afraid to fall.

He didn't see Zahra all the time since she was exclusively on NXT and he told himself that was the only reason why he saw Sasha more and hung out with her as much as possible.

The sound of a door opening interrupted his train of thought. Charlotte stepped out in a casual shift dress adjusting her newly won Divas Championship on her shoulder as she headed out for interviews. She looked at Seth with a undecipherable expression on her face but her eyes locked onto his and he felt trapped.

"Sasha, your, erm, friend is here to see you," Charlotte said and gave Seth another once over and walking down the hall to catch the elevator before she was late.

"I'm walking out now, wait a minute," Sasha yelled before eventually walking out and being disappointed on who it was. She thought it was Becky or maybe even Paige trying to rib her early in the morning. When she saw it was Seth, she gave a half-hearted wave. It was the first time that Seth had gotten a chance to truly look at her. Her hair was in a high ponytail and she had on a black sports bra with a loose tank top over it along with some cropped yoga leggings. What stood out most was her face which was always gorgeous to him but today was heartbreakingly beautiful. Her face was pale and her eyes looked hollow like she had a hangover the night before. Sasha never got drunk. She was 23 years old, literally the age where it was perfectly okay to get shit-faced every now and then, and would only have one or two drinks at an outing and then stopped. Clearly, the night before was an exception and Seth felt terrible like it was somehow his fault.

He offered her the frappe and she reluctantly took it from his hand.

"Hey princess." He didn't see when she flinched a bit when he called her 'princess'. "So it looks like you're heading to CrossFit, mind if I join?" Seth asked.

"No thanks, I think I just want to be alone today actually," Sasha looked at the ground as she spoke before walking away down the hall.

Seth, already intimidated by Charlotte's gaze a few moments ago, was saddened to see how Sasha reacted to his presence. He tucked his phone back into his pocket and grabbed her around the waist with his now free arm. She turned around fast and pushed him away.

"Don't do that anymore and if you didn't call me your baby or babe or princess, I would really appreciate it," Sasha said with a blank expression and crossed her arms across her chest.

Seth knew he would end up regretting his next words but he couldn't stop them from tumbling out of his mouth anyway. "Wow, are you that mad just because I have a girlfriend? I thought you understood that you and I weren't anything," he said and immediately regretted it. Sure, he and Sasha weren't romantically involved but to say they were nothing was an absolute lie. In fact, she was quickly becoming one of the most important people in his world. "I'm sor-"

Sasha cut him off, "No need to apologize. You're right. We are most definitely nothing to each other." She set her Starbucks cup down on the floor and began to back away quickly because she felt like her lungs were about to cave in and her tear ducts were on the verge of exploding. "Thanks for the coffee."

Seth pulled at his hair as he cursed at himself. He had really screwed up this time. Sasha, his quirky, sassy Sasha, looked completely shattered and it was all his fault. Him and his big, fat mouth.

He only hoped she knew he truly was sorry. Seth pulled out his phone and looked through his camera roll until he found a picture of Sasha wearing his new t-shirt that was the epitome of being a heel with "Never Shuts Up" on the front. The shirt was a bit too large for her so it totally covered her ring gear and her hair was down but she looked so happy that you would think it was custom made for her. She was flashing her "Legit Boss" rings and smiling so hard it looked like her face would split. Sasha had demanded he took that picture of her when she saw his new t-shirt design because she loved it so much and was so happy for him. In that moment, he really was starstruck again. The best female wrestler in the world was sitting on a production crate in his t-shirt grinning from ear to ear because she believed in him and wanted photographic documentation of that moment in time forever.

Seth uploaded the photo to Instagram and captioned it "#RealArchitectsKnowWhatsTrue". Fans would see it as a cheap plug to sell shirts and generate even more heel heat for two of the best in the business but hopefully Sasha saw it as even half of the apology she truly deserved. They were architects and over the past month they had been building one of the greatest relationships that Seth had ever been a part of. He hoped Sasha would remember that and forgive him soon.

* * *

Plot twist! A lot of you say that you really like how realistic this story is so I'm doing my best to incorporate real life events to give it a bigger sense of authenticity. I don't own any of these characters but I wish I did. By the way, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn was way better than I ever dreamed. Sasha vs Bayley was a CLASSIC. I just started back school so that's why I haven't updated in a bit but I should be able to update at least once a week now. This wasn't the way the chapter was originally supposed to go but I saw some of the current WWE news and figured that I'd throw it in there. Review and enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

After the argument with Seth, Sasha really began to go through the motions. Her life went back to what it had been before that unexpected weekend in Brooklyn. She worked, went to CrossFit three or four times a week, and whatever free time she had, she spent it watching anime on Netflix or doing some other secluded activity that didn't involve going out and pretending that she was having a good time. She had seen the picture of her he posted on Instagram but that wasn't enough. Not even close.

Sasha loved her friends and was eternally grateful for the other three of the Four Horsewomen but they weren't Seth. They couldn't pick her up and spin her around (well they could but there was nothing fun about suplexes and slams) like Seth did at one point in time. Only Seth could envelop her in his arms and rub her hair to make her feel so comfortable and relaxed even after the hardest matches.

She kept replaying his words in her head. It was no use in missing him. He had made it quite clear that they were nothing, that she was nothing. The Zahra thing still went over her head. Seth was the epitome of light and Zahra, well, it was a bit hard to tell if she had a soul.

Over the course of the last few weeks, she had been watching the social media debacle unfold which was Zahra vs the Universe. The girl was championing swastikas and actually expected people to let it go like World War II didn't happen. Zahra had also been terribly rude to fans and Sasha was disgusted. It was obvious that Sasha was an internet darling and could do no wrong in the eyes of the internet wrestling community but even if she wasn't, she could never be that disrespectful to the people that paid money to see her over such an insensitive topic. She thought about Seth again, which she did often, and still wondered how someone so sweet could be with someone so dark, so cold. While she was lost in thought, the news had broken that Zahra had been fired due to her comments. Sasha was absolutely floored even though she really shouldn't have been shocked at all. She longed for Seth more now than ever, to hug him and ask him if he was okay but then she recalled their last conversation and pushed all thoughts of him to the back of her mind.

She put a smile on her face and did a Facebook Q & A with her fans which she loved except for the part when they asked her who was her favorite Shield member. Sasha played it cool at first and harped on about how hot Roman Reigns was like every other warm-blooded heterosexual female but then she paused and relented, deciding to admit that her favorite was Seth.

The Q & A ended soon after but her Twitter followers began to put together conspiracy theories. "They did tweet each other a couple of times…" "Do you remember when Seth uploaded that picture of Sasha in his shirt?" "They would be so cute though, she's so much better than Zahra." Sasha giggled as she sat in the Divas locker room by herself. She hated to say it but her fans boosted her head so much at times to be ratchet and she loved it. Because she couldn't say what she wanted, she decided to tweet out how much she loved her #SashaKrew and decided to leave it at that before she said something to get her in trouble.

* * *

Meanwhile, Seth was at his wits end. He had eagerly tuned in to Sasha's Q & A and was surprised that she spoke of him so highly. The fallout on Twitter made him more curious than angry. People were literally rejoicing in the fact that Zahra got fired and fantasy booking a relationship between himself and Sasha. What did Sasha have that Zahra didn't? He stopped himself before he answered that question in his mind because the answer would not be complementary to his recently unemployed girlfriend.

He had already called Zahra when the news was first broken and planned to come down to Tampa this week to spend a day or two with her. It had him dumbfounded how unapologetic she still was. She would probably still have a job if she had shown even a little bit of remorse. Seth again ignored his instincts and got off the phone, assuming the sinking feeling in his chest was just nerves about his match later tonight. It was Hell In A Cell and marked a little over a full month since the last time he had spoken to Sasha.

Seth looked at the screens to see that the tag team match was still on and before he could stop himself, he felt his feet moving towards the Divas locker room. Damn logic to hell, he was desperate. He couldn't let another hour pass without her knowing how sorry he truly was. Seth had been stubborn and well, a jerk but it was time to get on his knees and grovel if necessary.

He planned out an apology as he walked down the hall but when he walked in, his mind was blank. Sasha was in the room by herself with headphones on, zoning out and twiddling her thumbs. Tonight, she would participate in the first women's Hell In A Cell match against Charlotte for the WWE Divas Championship and she was absolutely positively terrified. She was scheduled to lose but this was the biggest match of her career thus far and would be the deciding factor on whether this Divas Revolution had all been for naught. Her hair was pin-straight and parted down the middle and she had her hood on and head down as she bit her lip, forgetting that she was ruining her make up. Sasha jumped as she heard a loud noise which was Seth shutting the door behind him.

She looked up at him like a deer caught in headlights and slowly removed her headphones. Sasha stood up even though she felt quite dizzy at the moment. In her head, she had so many plans for what she'd say to him if they ever spoke again. So many questions rested on her tongue, namely to ask why he was there. Even so, her first words struck him in the chest like a fire-tipped sword. "You hurt me."

Seth was taken aback by her blunt words until he remembered that Sasha Banks was not one to pull punches. He kept stepping closer and closer until her back was against the wall and her palm laid square on his chest to maintain what was left of her personal space. Seth just wanted to feel close to her again. Heat radiated off of her body even though she was wearing her ring gear under that hoodie. That heat was missed because he had been feeling so cold without it. She knew what he was trying to do and it wasn't going to work or at least she hoped it wouldn't because she was really susceptible to anything Rollins related.

He grabbed her hand and held it gently, prompting the breath to hitch in her throat as Seth looked her straight in the eyes. "I did and I know I'm not worth it but at least let me try to be. I am so sorry that I said what I did. It's been one month, five days, and three hours since that day and I can't believe it's taken me this long to formally apologize. Banks, you couldn't be nothing to me even if you tried. I don't care if I have to hold Creative at gunpoint to get them to give you the title or rob a Starbucks, I'll do whatever it takes to get you to forgive me, babe, I really will," Seth said and rested his forehead on hers. He knew this was dangerous territory he was in but at this point, he could care less.

Sasha looked up at him and felt her resolve melting away. He had interlocked his fingers with the hand he had been holding and she was failing at being angry. Seth was doing the face again and it was well-known that she couldn't resist the face. She pondered his statement for a few moments before reaching a conclusion because she knew that waiting was driving him crazy.

"Well, I don't know about the gunpoint thing but the robbing Starbucks idea is quite intriguing," Sasha said and smiled to let him know that she was joking and he was forgiven. Seth wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up like he had done so many times before. Sasha yelped in surprise. She hadn't exactly forgotten the feeling but it was so much better than she had remembered.

"Sasha, your promo is in five and the match is right after", a production assistant with a very bored tone poked their head in the room to relay the information and left immediately afterwards, clearly not interested in what was taking place.

Her face went from playful to stony with hints of nervousness behind her eyes. She shook herself free of Seth's grasp and went to pick up her "Boss" necklace and rings. Wordlessly, Sasha shifted her hair to one shoulder and handed Seth the necklace. He walked behind her, her shoulder blades against his chest, and put it on her, wanting to take his time and savor the moment but he knew they were working against time constraints. Seth turned her around and her head was down so he lifted her chin until she met his gaze.

"I believe in you, baby," he spoke and she felt dizzy once again. Pushing his luck once more, he kissed her forehead which she didn't object to so he moved on to her right cheek. Again, no objection so he kissed the left cheek. Sasha had closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his lips against her skin until she remembered the time as well as the events of a month ago. She stepped away from Seth quickly and moved towards the door before looking at him one last time and he was absolutely beaming. Sasha took off her jacket to replace it with the flashy black one she wore to the ring and placed her white shutter shades on the top of her head. She headed off to find Naomi and Tamina to shoot their promo consisting of the rest of Team B.A.D seeing her off before her big match. It was now or never.

* * *

Sasha had cracked Charlotte open early on by slamming the cell door in her forehead, causing blood to gush out. Officials wanted them to stop but they refused. The blood was actually going to help make this a classic. One of Charlotte's clip in extensions fell out and like a true heel, she rubbed it in Charlotte's face, allowing blood to cover it before waving it in the air then dropping it and gloating to the crowd even though she was terrified on the inside because she knew that the spot she had planned with Charlotte for next would hurt like hell. She slowly turned around, bracing for it and Charlotte locked eyes with her before charging at her like a bull and spearing her through the middle of the ropes and through the cage door which was closed so the force and momentum of their bodies knocked it clean off the hinges. "Holy shit" and "This is awesome" chants rang out among the crowd. They got into the ring slowly and the match progressed for a few minutes before it was time for the grand finale. It was the home stretch. Sasha and Charlotte had already been wrestling a full 20 minutes and it was brutal to say the least. Sasha was climbing the inside of the cage in the corner slowly, preparing for the last big spot of the night.

She had just laid Charlotte across the top turnbuckle, climbing the cell to gain leverage and delivering an amplified version of her double knees in the corner move. After selling that move for a bit, Charlotte dragged herself to the corner, climbed to the top turnbuckle, and grabbed Sasha by the legs and hips. Charlotte set her up for a sit-down powerbomb from the top rope and sent her crashing down to the mat. Sasha's body laid nearly lifeless on the ground. Everyone was scared. It was well known that Sasha had almost gotten severely injured at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn after a reverse hurricanrana that barely ended up being higher reward than risk. Sasha always made it clear that she didn't care about putting her body on the line as long as it ended in a classic. The audience could only hope that her luck hadn't run out. Charlotte gathered her bearings slowly and stood up, ready to accept her victory because the referee was about to rule Sasha knocked out and unable to compete. Suddenly, she felt two knees in her back and a moment later she was on the ground locked into the Bank Statement.

Seth was in the back literally clawing at his hair. The locker rooms had completely emptied out as everyone gathered around the monitors to watch this hellacious and historical match. If he didn't know any better, he would think that they were trying to kill each other. He was so worried that something had gone wrong when Sasha had stopped moving but he knew better than anyone that she was strong.

Charlotte clawed her way out of the Bank Statement and laid out in the ring to catch her breath. Sasha hit the mat and yelled at the referee in frustration before climbing to the top rope preparing to hit a crossbody but was slow in making the leap due to fatigue. Charlotte took advantage, rushing and hitting the Natural Selection from the top rope and covering Sasha. 1. 2. 3. Hell was finally over. Charlotte rolled off of Sasha and they both laid out on the mat, absolutely exhausted. Charlotte got up first and helped Sasha up. They limped out of the cell together and Sasha lifted her hand in victory before pushing her lightly and smirking to even keep a little bit of kayfabe alive. She limped to the back as quickly as she could to give Charlotte a chance to celebrate with the crowd. Tonight was the night that Charlotte Flair proved that her last name was irrelevant. Tonight was the night that Sasha Banks established herself as one of the biggest stars in the company, male or female. As soon as she got behind the curtain, her knees finally gave out and instead of hitting the floor, she fell into a strong pair of arms. Seth had been waiting for her. Sasha faintly smiled and allowed Seth to lead her to the trainer's room. She laid down on a table and he stood next to her.

"You almost killed yourself out there, Banks," Seth scolded her and she rolled her eyes.

"You're just mad that you have to follow that in less than 5 minutes," Sasha smirked and Seth kissed her forehead.

"You're absolutely right," Seth responded. "You're one of the best this company has ever seen."

"Thanks," She blushed and rubbed her neck. She knew she looked a mess but from the way Seth was currently looking at her, she could've been Rihanna in the flesh. "Anyway, we have a few days off after Raw tomorrow so what about you come to Boston and we can throw peanuts at my neighbor's dog?" Sasha exclaimed. Her eyes were bright and hopeful even though her body was beat down.

"I would but I already have plans," Seth said, uncomfortably scratching his head. He could already tell that there was a 95% chance that he was going right back into the hole that he had just crawled out of.

"Already? But how…" Sasha's voice trailed off as everything came together in her head. "You're still with her, aren't you?"

Seth put his head down. "Yeah." He couldn't say anything else.

Sasha rolled off the table, ignoring all the pain in her bones. She'd take some Tylenol in her hotel room but right now, she had to get out of here. "No worries then, have a good trip and good luck with your match," she spoke with as friendly of a tone possible and limped out of the room, avoiding Seth's attempts to help.

He couldn't even go after her because it was time for his match and he could only hope that he hadn't lost her again.

* * *

So I changed the timeline of the firing and Facebook Q&A to fit this story so it's like two months later than it happened in real life but you all love how realistic this is so I've decided to keep it as realistic as possible. Anyway, I love my reviewers so this is a fairly long chapter because I had a lot to pack in here and I still have so many more ideas. Review & Favorite!


	5. Chapter 5

Seth rolled over in the bed he was sharing with Zahra. Light was streaming in through the curtains and he assumed that it was at least 8 am. His phone sat on the night table and he looked over to make sure that Zahra was sleeping before grabbing it. There were a few unread text messages, mostly drunken ones from Dean telling him how much he liked his hair when it was two-toned. However, the one he paid close attention to was from Sasha. She had told him how much fun she was having in Boston even though she had to go by herself. Seth smiled when he saw the picture of her neighbor's dog with peanut shells surrounding him. In the moment, he knew where he wanted to be and it damn sure wasn't Tampa. He looked over at Zahra's sleeping form and decided to text Sasha good morning like he had started back doing since the night after Hell In A Cell.

 **Goodmorning Baby (: Facetime me later?**

At this point, Seth knew that he was terrible. He knew Sasha had a weak spot for him and every time he screwed up (which seemed to be quite often), he took advantage of it. It was wrong but he craved her and refused to let her go. However, he could tell that Sasha was growing tired of his bullshit. She wasn't going to be his friend that he hid from public. She deserved more than that and it was time he gave it to her.

When it came to Zahra, he laid in bed and pondered their relationship. He just thought she was so exotic and so new when they had first met. Maybe that's why he ruined one relationship over her already. He couldn't blame her, he was the one that was engaged at the time. The sex was absolutely out of the world but beyond that, he was struggling to find redeeming qualities about the tattooed vixen. Hell, she even slept with a grimace on her face.

 _ **Morning Rollins and can't. I have a date.**_

His heart sunk and Seth thought that he was going to throw up. He wanted to know who the punk was that thought he was good enough for Sasha and rip his slimy head off. He read Sasha's tense reply again and knew that he had nearly reached the end of his rope with her. Soon enough, she wouldn't want anything to do with him and that was not going to happen.

* * *

Sasha tiptoed down the stairs in her apartment at 11 pm holding an umbrella with all intents and purposes of using it as a weapon. It was pouring down raining outside but she still could've sworn she heard moving downstairs in her kitchen. As she got closer, she could see the light was on in her kitchen. She was 99.9% percent positive that there was an intruder in her home and she was absolutely angry. They must not have known that they broke into the home of the best female wrestler in the world. Just as she was about to run in and strike, she got a look of the intruder's face and dropped the umbrella in shock.

"Seth, what are you doing here?" Sasha said and put her hands on her hips. All she was wearing was a sports bra and yoga shorts which didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

Seth smiled like everything was normal. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought you might be hungry so I brought pizza. Plus, I remembered where you keep your spare key," Seth responded. He opened her refrigerator to look for something to drink. "What happened to your hot date?" He kept looking into the back of the fridge to avoid meeting her eyes.

"Somewhere with his 15 cats. It didn't last very long. Where's your girl?" Sasha challenged.

Seth let out a sigh of relief and finally shut the refrigerator door and faced Sasha. He lifted her up onto the kitchen counter and may or may not have squeezed her butt in the process. She really wanted to be angry but wasn't.

"My girl is right here," Seth whispered with a smile and placed his hands on her bare midriff, attempting to pull her closer but she pushed him away.

"Stop it, Rollins. I mean it," Sasha retorted and slid back as far as she was so sick of this roller coaster with Seth. Were they friends? Did she matter to him at all? It was still so hard to tell at times. She knew that Seth always wanted the best of both worlds but it was time he realized that he couldn't have it both ways.

"I'm serious this time, babe. From this point on, it's me and you," Seth said and pulled her closer again, this time succeeding because she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Just like old times?" Sasha asked.

"Just like old times," Seth said. The look on her face was worth dumping Zahra less than 12 hours ago. She looked like she could kiss him until he couldn't see straight and even though they were just friends, he wasn't 100% sure that he'd object. Her face changed into a look of concern as she reached to touch his forehead which was clearly bruised in the corner. Seth decided to explain before she asked. "I may or may not have gotten hit with a cell phone to the face by my ex when I told her things weren't working out."

Sasha gasped at first, then raised an eyebrow. Something still didn't add up. She gave Seth the look and he knew to keep going. "Well, she assumed that I was coming here when I left there so yeah, I don't think she likes you very much from all of the things she said but I kind of sort of called her a bitch and I know it was wrong in hindsight but I just got so mad and told her that she'd never be half the woman you are. And she was like, what do you see in her? She's not even that great. And I was like, she's gorgeous and smart and patient and kind and talented and driven and beautiful and when she buys me coffee, she always gets me an extra shot of espresso," Seth rambled on and on and Sasha couldn't stop blushing. She felt like her chest was literally about to explode with happiness.

"You did not!" Sasha exclaimed. She couldn't believe it.

"I surely did babe," Seth smirked and moved a lock of hair out of her face. She beamed at him and the feeling was mutual. Seth kissed her forehead to test his luck. Then, he kissed her left cheek, prompting a blush so he kissed the right one like he had on that night at Hell In A Cell.

However, this time he started moving his hands up and down her torso and kissing all over her face and up and down her neck before making his way down to her chest and shoulders. Sasha was powerless against him but screw it, his lips felt so good, it felt possible that she would die without it. His hands were all over her breasts and rubbing her bare thighs and she was in heaven.

He pulled her off the counter and she wrapped her arms around his neck and he worked his way back up her chest, lingering right over her lips and in that moment, she was almost positive that she had never been so ready for anything her entire life.

* * *

Sasha woke up in a cold sweat. That dream had her feeling all types of weird. She wouldn't lie and say that it was the first non-platonic thought she had ever had about Seth but it was certainly the most vivid.

It was around 8 am and she instinctively reached for her phone to check her messages.

 **Goodmorning Baby (: Facetime me later?**

How was it that less than 10 words from Seth could make her heart soar and her stomach tie up in knots? At the end of the day, he was still in Tampa in bed with the female incarnation of Lucifer but still expected her to hang on and be there as "his" Sasha. Fuck it, she was done with it all, done being an option, and done waiting for him to be worth it. She ignored the message and went back to sleep.

* * *

Plot Twist! It was all just a dream and Sasha is sick of Seth's crap! I almost never do back to back updates but my reviewers are so awesome, I had to upload this short chapter today. Someone suggested that I involved jealous Seth so here was a little sneak peek of what a jealous Seth looks like. I wrote most of this while watching RAW, looking at Seth gives me all the feels, and it's not a good Monday night unless Sasha Banks is on my screen. Someone asked what is Seth/Sasha's ship name and from what I've seen on Tumblr, it is Ballins. Happy belated Labor Day everyone! Review and favorite!


	6. Chapter 6

This was getting old really fast. Sasha had stopped returning Seth's calls and texts ever since she walked out on him in that trainers room. He was in Tampa at Zahra's apartment and made a pact with himself that every time he thought about Sasha, he was going to devote his time and energy to Zahra. That being said, he felt like he had more sex in two days than he had his entire life. It wasn't that Zahra was so enticing or that he was so insatiable. He was looking for distractions in the wrong places and Seth was running out of options really quickly. Between rounds, he'd check his phone for texts he knew wouldn't be there. Seth was going insane. He knew he was running out of time with Sasha but time after time, he wore her patience thin and she finally cut him loose.

It was obvious that she cared about him way more than he deserved. He knew he was a douchebag for taking advantage of that and exploiting it but he couldn't help it. Zahra oozed sex from her pores and that's what drew him to her in the first place. Sasha, on the other hand, wasn't just a vixen, she literally was everything. It wasn't that he didn't find her attractive or that she didn't turn him on, quite the opposite actually. She was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever come in contact with and if by any chance that he became worthy of being anything to her again, be it friends or more, he'd be the luckiest man on Earth. Because of that, he never wanted to taint her or be the reason someone who bathed in light turned to the darkness. Even so, the damage was probably already done.

He walked into Zahra's bathroom with intentions of taking a shower but stopped when he caught his reflection in the mirror. His body was perfect as usual with sweat gleaming on his abs from his earlier bedroom activities but certain things were different. His fists were clinched like he was ready to punch someone. They had been like that for days, the tension in his body was normal at this point. Worst of all were his eyes. The best word to describe them was conflicted. Only somebody who really knew him would be able to notice these slight differences. Someone like Roman. Someone like Dean. Someone like Sasha. His beautiful, hilarious, independent, smart, talented, enigmatic Sasha.

Zahra creeped up behind him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She was wearing nothing but a large t-shirt with nothing underneath and that didn't excite him nearly as much as it should have. He stared into the mirror at the two of them. They were both smoking hot but right now, that's all they had going for them. Zahra was barely human and Seth's humanity wasn't answering his texts. Sasha. He was freaking out over a girl who he had never even kissed, a girl who was just a friend on even their best days. The thoughts of her threatened to overwhelm him so he did the only thing he knew how. Seth turned around and grabbed Zahra with almost predatory intent and decided not to shower alone and Zahra being Zahra was happy to oblige.

* * *

Sasha stretched and looked at the talent list for the night. Of course she was on it, she was in a tag team match for Survivor Series with Team BAD vs Team PCB in a traditional elimination match. Cracks had begun to show between both teams storyline-wise and fans were itching to see who turned on each other first. Although her career was going great, her personal life sucked. Of course she knew it was the best thing to leave Seth alone but that didn't make it any easier. It had been about a month since they had last spoken. Sasha saw him around with Zahra whenever management allowed her to be backstage as a visitor. For some reason, whenever she walked past them, he would become so greatly enamored with Zahra, almost like he wanted to suck her lips off. It got easier over time to not get angry but it still caused a slight pang in her heart now and then.

She hated to admit it but she did still care about Seth a great deal. After someone's had that large an impact on your life in such a short amount of time, it was nearly impossible to erase their handprint on your heart. Sasha was now a up and comer in the WWE, churning out consistent match of the year candidates. As usual, she sat on a production crate swinging her legs until it was time for her match.

These days she liked to watch the fast-paced movements backstage. Stage hands ran back and forth while sweaty wrestlers limped after their matches. She loved the hustle and bustle of the life she lived. Her hands grasped the edge of the crate as she looked around. She laughed when she saw Xavier Woods practicing on his trombone before the New Day's match until her eyes landed on Seth was being tongued down by Zahra. Sasha froze when Seth's eyes locked onto hers. Suddenly, she felt naked under his gaze like he could see right through her which she knew he could. He was conveying so much through his eyes-longing, care, passion, and a hell of a lot of regret. Sasha looked away quickly and slid her shutter shades down from the top of her head to the top of her nose. It was time to get to gorilla for her match and this was no time for the fickle emotions of Sasha Banks. The Boss was here to handle business.

* * *

Seth watched the monitors intently. Sasha was in the middle of the ring as the sole survivor of Team BAD and doing her best to fend off Becky Lynch. The crowd was on their feet and screaming at the top of their lungs. This was becoming more and more common during women's matches and it was obvious that the Four Horsewomen had something to do with it.

"This is why I'm the baddest!" Sasha taunted the crowd before driving both knees into the gut of the orange-haired warrior. Becky writhed in pain as she held her stomach while trying to regain her bearings. Seth had never adored Sasha more than he did in that very moment.

"On a scale of 10 to 10, how much of a sucker are you for Banks?" Dean asked as he appeared next to Seth.

"What do you mean, Ambrose?" Seth responded without taking his eyes off of Sasha. She had just taken a pumphandle slam from Becky and was holding her back in clear attempt to sell the move which she accomplished successfully. The entire world knew that Sasha Banks was a fantastic wrestler but Seth was enamored by her every move.

Dean bit into the sandwich he was holding (it looked like roast beef) and laughed. "You think I couldn't figure out who was on the other end of those late night phone calls when we room together? Dude, I borrowed your Netflix password while you were at CrossFit and there was anime in your queue. You don't watch anime," Dean replied and Seth turned beet red. "Plus, when you stopped begging me to go to CrossFit with you, I figured you had roped some poor soul into that hellhole."

"Anime is cool man and so is Crossfit," Seth countered to deflect from the true purpose of the conversation.

"No, she is cool," Dean pointed to Sasha on the screen. "She's one of the most incredible individuals I've ever met and out of all the guys in the back who'd kill to spend even an hour of time with her, she chose your sorry ass and it continues to blow my mind. And despite all of that you still choose Cruella DeVille," Dean spat, making his distaste for Zahra known for the umpteenth time. "Even now, you know why Banks left you high and dry but you still don't get it. You think you're in the right even though you traded a diamond for a lump of horse shit."

Seth wanted to laugh but didn't want to give Dean the satisfaction. Plus, it probably wasn't very nice to laugh when your bestfriend compared your girlfriend to horse manure. Dean's words bothered him because he struggled to find a part of it that wasn't true. "I love Zahra," Seth said while watching Sasha's smirking face as she got her arm raised in victory. This time she was the last woman standing and he was damn proud of her.

"Who are you trying to convince, Rollins? Me or yourself?" Dean said with nonchalance before finishing his sandwich and walking off to find Roman before the main event.

Zahra had walked off right before the start of Sasha's match (gee, he wondered why) so he grabbed the WWE World Heavyweight title and clasped it around his waist. He supposed that he should head to gorilla for his main event match teaming with the Wyatt Family against Dean, Roman, and two mystery partners. On his way there, he nearly walked into Sasha who was returning from her match. They both stopped dead in their tracks and stared at each other. To him, she was in her best state with messy hair, nearly non-existent lipstick, and skin that looked steaming hot from the adrenaline that was surely still pumping through her veins. Not to mention the wild eyes that he had looked into a million times but still couldn't manage to decipher.

For Sasha, the moment was torture. Her chest cavity felt as if it was filling up with tar while circus elephants tap danced on her windpipe. Her heart hurt. It wasn't the have a few beers with Becky and tomorrow she'd be okay type of pain. This was the type of hurt that made you put Celine Dion on repeat while you drowned in the nearest tub of Ben & Jerry's. Seth was beautiful as always. His hair was wet, his shirt was tight, and that blonde patch of hair stood out. She had always seen that blonde patch of hair as a metaphor for Seth's life. It faded more and more everyday as the black overwhelmed it but it was still there, shining as a beacon of hope that the Seth she knew and cared for was still inside somewhere.

"You look good," Seth spoke first and allowed his eyes to linger over her body. He would never ever get tired of doing that.

Once again, she felt naked and this time because he was so close, she felt absolutely tiny compared to him. This was the same man who used to wrap her up in his arms and rub her hair until she fell asleep and this was also the same man that didn't choose her and never would.

"I know I do," she deadpanned and placed her hands on her hips. Sasha was so over playing games with Seth.

Seth ran a hand over his face in frustration. "I miss you, Banks," he grabbed her hand, trying to plead with her but it was a lost cause.

"I miss you more than you'll ever know, Seth. Believe me but you missing me isn't enough for me. It'll never be enough. Not anymore," she said with newfound strength in her voice and kissed Seth on the cheek before her eyes landed on Zahra coming up behind him. Sasha turned on the worn heel of her boot and walked away with her head held high.

Seth thought about all that they had been through since that weekend in Brooklyn. Sasha didn't want to be his girlfriend or to tote him around like this season's Michael Kors purses. All she wanted was him, as her friend, to put her first and he couldn't even do that right. Seth was torn between going after Sasha and falling into Zahra's waiting embrace but luckily his match was up next. His decision, whatever it may be, would have to wait.

* * *

I'm backkkkkk! I'm glad I posted two chapters last week because I've been so swamped lately with school plus I got a job. Anyway, I just wanna thank my awesome reviewers, I read them all, both short and long. I appreciate constructive criticism and do my best to incorporate it in the story. I have another story idea that's been weighing heavily on my mind with the pairing of Becky Lynch/Finn Balor so I may write this simultaneously with this one or wait until I finish this to start that. Seth's decision is coming up next chapter and I will do my best to have that out to you guys as soon as possible. Review and favorite!


	7. Chapter 7

Something had to give. Seth sat in his locker room, champ's privilege, and fumbled through his iPhone for the 5th time. He had over 2,000 songs on it and there was not even one that he halfway wanted to listen to. His head was all messed up. The only thing he could hear was Dean's words in his head and the memory of Sasha's lips on his cheek burned his face. He was so confused on what to do and he didn't know why.

His phone rang and he answered on instinct. "Hello?" he questioned.

"Sethie, are you coming down this week?" Zahra basically barked through the phone. Seth ran a hand across his face and sighed.

"No, I told you that Dean and I were going with Roman to see his daughter. I haven't seen my niece in almost two months between work and coming to Tampa," Seth tried his best to calmly explain the situation.

"So," she deadpanned.

"So?" Seth felt his blood begin to boil and his hands began to shake.

"It's not like it's your real niece. I haven't seen you in two whole days. I need you," she said. It was clear that she only meant that "need" in a sexual manner.

"This isn't working out. Like at all," The words tumbled out of Seth's mouth before he could even register what he had said. He wished he was horrified. He wished he wanted to take it back and apologize and beg for forgiveness but he wanted no such thing.

"What?! Oh, I get it. It's because of that whore Sasha, huh? I knew she had gotten into your head. You think nobody can figure out that you're obsessed with her?" she went off and instead of trying to calm her down, he snapped.

"Says the girl who purposefully enticed me out of an engagement. But I can't blame you, being the other woman is all you know. You know what, I don't want anything to do with you ever again. Don't call me. Don't text me. Don't send me a carrier pigeon. You're rude to my friends. You're rude to my co-workers and you're plain disrespectful to a woman that has done nothing to you and absolutely everything for me. I don't care what happens to you after this to be honest but if you call Sasha Banks out of her name again, I'll personally let her break your neck," Seth snarled and hung up in her face.

For a minute, he just sat there and breathed in and out . His chest felt light and his mind was clear and for the first time in forever, he felt unburdened. The only thing on his mind was Sasha. Sasha. Seth dropped his phone on the floor and ran out of the locker room with all intents and purposes of finding Sasha immediately. Dean saw him from a few yards away and looked at him confused until they made eye contact and Seth mouthed the name he was looking for. Dean smiled huge and pointed to the east. Seth ran that way. He found her riding segways with the guys from New Day, screaming "Booty". She spent so much time with them now and he was jealous, very jealous actually but he lost the right to have an opinion a long time ago. He laughed and leaned against the wall for a minute. Seth just wanted to watch her and remember her in this moment. Happy. She looked happy. He remembered when he used to make her happy. He also remembered when he took that happiness from her. Seth stepped into her path, letting her know to slowly come to a stop in front of him.

"Booty, huh?" Seth asked jokingly even though there was no humor in his voice. He couldn't get over how beautiful she looked. She wore her floral and blue ring gear with her NXT jacket over it. Her hair was pin-straight once more and her makeup hadn't been done yet so her face was naked and still the most gorgeous one he'd ever seen.

"What do you want, Seth?" She softly asked. Sasha wasn't quite annoyed but she was tired of having the same conversation over and over again.

"I dumped Zahra. I know it may not mean much anymore but I did it and I did listen to everything you said. I am sorry Sasha for everything. You were the best thing in my life, even better than the championship and I screwed up. You are so awesome and beautiful and sophisticated and fun. You don't deserve my crap and you had every right to cut me loose. I apologize babe," he poured out his heart and he knew she didn't like when he called her babe anymore but he couldn't help it. A part of him would always feel like she was his. A part of him would never forget how it felt to have her in his arms.

On the Segway, Sasha was a few inches taller than Seth. She sized him up and thought over what he said. Sasha wanted nothing more than to run into his arms but she couldn't go back. Not yet. She flipped her hair over one shoulder. "That's great, Seth. I'm really happy for you and I accept your apology. I'll see you around, okay?" And without waiting for an answer, she turned around and rode off. This time he was the one left out in the cold.

Seth was shocked. He didn't expect her to want to ride off into the sunset with him but he really thought the feeling was mutual between them. However, he knew Sasha. She was trying to protect herself from him and he didn't blame her. He had screwed up with her so many times. Also, she didn't need him but he knew that he needed her. Badly.

Dean and Roman found him standing alone in the middle of the corridor and approached him.

"How did it go?" Roman asked, clearly filled in by Dean.

"Terribly. I really kinda let it all out and she hit me with the "Ok cool" card basically", Seth mumbled.

Dean and Roman looked at each other a few times before finally busting out in laughter. They were leaning on each other to hold themselves up.

"What's so funny?" Seth asked, obviously annoyed.

"Banks! She's so real for that," Dean wheezed out before laughing uncontrollably again. "You really thought that she'd jump straight into your arms after you left her in the dust for Cruella DeVille for how many months now?"

"It's not even like that. I broke up with Zahra. Wasn't that enough?" Seth asked.

"How is it not? Every time you have something good, you fuck it up. The problem isn't with Sasha. I'm surprised she even gave you a chance to speak. The problem is with you man. Break your own cycle," Roman got serious for a moment and broke it down to Seth.

"Ugh," Seth grabbed his hair and groaned. "Why does she have to be so complicated?"

"Because she's worth it," Dean said before laughing with Roman again and started walking off.

Seth knew what he had to do but he didn't know how. He was about to start making a fool out of himself all to get Sasha to even like him again but he had no doubt in his mind that it would be worth every second.

* * *

Very short but I have to work in an hour so I just wanted to treat you guys. Happy Sunday yall! It's about to get real soon!


	8. Chapter 8

_Nikki Bella's body went crashing to the outside prompting the bell to ring. "And the winner of the inaugural Divas Royal Rumble Match, guaranteeing her a Divas Championship Match at Wrestlemania, SASHAAA BAAANKS!" Lilian Garcia proudly declared from ringside. Sasha fell to her knees in the middle of the ring. She couldn't even hear the crowd over the blood pumping in her ears. The entire audience was on their feet seeming to be chanting "You Deserve It" and she was still technically a heel. That attested to the type of influence she had. The revolution really was being televised. The referee helped her to her feet, raising her hand in victory, and she lost it. The tears began to flow and she climbed the turnbuckle facing the announce table and pointed at the large Wrestlemania sign hoisted from the top of the arena._

Sasha smirked at the crowd after the recap from last night's pay-per-view went off the Titan Tron. She was blinged out as usual with her Legit Boss rings and her Boss necklace with the her custom cut matching t-shirt. Naomi and Tamina stood behind her, flanking her sides.

"You already knew what was true," Sasha spoke to the crowd and instead of booing, they fed off of her energy and cheered. "I told you. I told every single one of you that I was going to win that match. I told you all that I didn't care if it was 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, or even 76 Divas in that ring, I was going to come out on top and that the rest of them would go over the top rope. I am the BADDEST diva in the WWE, I told you I was coming for that title and now at Wrestlemania, I am going to become WWE Divas Champion and you can bank on that."

Sasha flipped her hair and smiled at the crowd that was currently chanting her name. She was a tweener now, the fans didn't care what she did. They were going to cheer her no matter what she did and the sentiment did not extend to her teammates.

"Whoa there, Sasha. Tamina and I are happy for you and all but let's not forget the real reason you even got to the Royal Rumble. If it wasn't for us, you'd still be slumming it in NXT with Carrot Top, Ric Flair Jr, and the Hugger Chick. Without us, you'd be nobody. In all honesty, you still are," Naomi disdainfully said and the crowd chorused in boos. Tamina stood directly next to her with her arms folded and eyes locked on Sasha.

Sasha stepped up so she was right in Naomi's face. She was shorter by quite a bit but she didn't care. No one intimidated her. Sasha put the mic back up to her mouth, "You made me? That's funny because before I even got to RAW, I was still the Boss. Last time I checked, Stephanie McMahon brought me in because without me, you two couldn't get the job done," Sasha taunted them.

Enraged, Naomi hit Sasha in the head with her mic before allowing Tamina to kick Sasha in the stomach. The Boss hit the ground and they decided to add further insult to injury by kicking her repeatedly. Naomi dragged Sasha near the turnbuckle so Tamina could climb to the top rope and hit the Superfly Splash on Sasha's limp body. Afterwards, they rolled out of the ring, pleased with themselves. The crowd reaction was hellacious. No heels had gotten that much heat all night.

Sasha laid in the middle of the ring as RAW faded out to commercial.

* * *

At least her face turn was complete. She had told Creative weeks ago that the fans refused to boo her anymore, but they didn't listen. They wanted to drag it out until after the Rumble which made sense if they had some big plans creatively for her between now and Wrestlemania. Stephanie and Hunter claimed they did but they were being very secretive about it. In the wrestling world, that could be really good or dead awful.

She was a bit sore since Tamina's splashes hurt like hell but overall she was feeling good. She would miss being a part of Team BAD but it was time for her to branch out on her own as a single wrestler. The girls had came over to make sure she was okay after she came through the curtain. Other than that, she was left to her own devices for the rest of the night.

Seth had texted her every day for the last month since they had last spoken. She never responded and he never gave up. Sometimes it was just a simple good morning or him reinerating how sorry he was. Other times, he'd tell her about his day or invite her out to go out to eat or even the movies. Some nights when he was particularly lonely, he'd tell her all the things he missed about her and everything he was going to do with her if she ever forgave him.

The only acknowledgment she ever gave him was the read notification for every message he sent. She'd read them all immediately, especially late nights when she let his words "talk" her to sleep. He considered it as a reply of sorts and would keep sending her a new message after she read the last one. She thought about the night before the Royal Rumble when he decided to blow her phone up.

 **How was your night?**

 **I miss you babe.**

 **Do you still use that hair dye that smells like strawberries?**

 **I miss your hair.**

 **And you.**

 **Do you want to come to Iowa with me Thursday? I have a day off and I'd love to spend it with you.**

 **If you ever forgive me, we're going to go to Kennedy Space Center and pretend we're going to build a Starbucks and CrossFit gym on Mars.**

 **So I got Hunter to let it slip that you're winning the Rumble tomorrow night...**

 **Gosh you're epic. I'm so proud of you.**

 **You're the best female wrestler in the world.**

 **But you already knew that.**

 **I really wish you'd talk to me.**

 **I haven't slept in weeks.**

 **But you need to sleep, your big day is tomorrow.**

 **I care about you so much Sasha, I just really wish you would see that. I want you in my life more than anything, even this damn title. I'm so sorry. You're so beautiful and I just want you to run your fingers through my hair and eat all the ice cream in my fridge and I just want to wrap my arms around you right now because I'm so happy for you and I wish I could've been there to celebrate with you when you got the news.**

 **Goodnight babe, I'd wish you luck for tomorrow but you don't need it. You're Sasha Banks (:**

Seth had sent her a Starbucks giftcard every week and let his affection be known on social media. The WWE released footage of an NXT All-Star Panel filmed a few months prior on the WWE Network that night so he was eager to see the fans reaction on Twitter once he got on the road. He was still on great terms with Sasha when it happened and it was obvious. They kept exchanging looks throughout the panel and Seth praised her over and over again, it was adorable and borderline disgusting.

"I've got a question for you Sasha." "I'm Team BOSS all the way. Just saying, just throwing that out there." "I think you're being a little modest when you say you never thought it was gonna happen because you knew you would be in this position." He never ceased to voice his pride in her, even cutting off his boss and colleagues to talk directly to her on stage.

Also, he had posted a selfie of the two of them for Throwback Thursday where she was leaning over his shoulder smiling while he grimaced at the camera. They were the real life Beauty and the Beast.

RAW had ended about half an hour ago. Sasha sat in her rental car, ready to drive to the next town before Smackdown tapings the next day. She was exhausted and was driving by herself for once so she felt terrible. However, it had to be done so she put the car in reverse and prepared to back out. She had only backed up an inch when she heard a yelp. Sasha put the car in park and rolled down her drivers window to look behind her.

"Geez, Banks. You almost ran me over," Seth sauntered up to her window and she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Seth?" She asked with the exhaustion clear in her voice. He truly looked at her. Her shoulders were slumped, her eyelids looked like they were going to droop at any moment, and she had already washed her makeup off so her bags were clearly visible. Seth could tell that Sasha hadn't been sleeping and was working so hard but so worried about her future.

He decided to take a chance and bend the truth a bit. "Well, Dean and Roman decided to be funny and leave without me so I came to the parking lot to see if the boys from New Day were still here so I could ride with them but apparently they're not," Seth said and technically he didn't lie. Dean and Roman did leave him but they texted him to let him know if he really couldn't find a ride, they'd come back for him. He didn't want Sasha to know that though.

"You need a ride, huh?" Sasha said and looked up at him from where she was. He hadn't shaved in a while and he looked scared that this wouldn't go his way. She wanted to tell him to walk to the next town barefooted. She wanted to tell him that she wanted nothing else to do with him. She wanted to tell him to stop trying to contact her. However, she couldn't do it. Sasha thought about those messages she faithfully read, those gifts, and all of his gestures to show how much he needed her in his life. She was so tired and did not want to ride alone. Plus, Seth was also doing the face that she had quite a weakness for. "You can ride with me only if you drive."

Seth's face lit up for the first time in months. He nodded in agreement and Sasha unlocked the car so he could put his bags in the backseat. Reluctantly, she got out of the driver's side so he could take her place.

She gasped when he slid past her to get in the drivers seat. Sasha shook it off and moved to the passenger side. After a few moments, they were in their proper positions. Before Seth put the car in reverse, he looked over at Sasha.

"Thank you Banks. You're the best," he said and leaned over to kiss her cheek. She flinched slightly but didn't completely pull away. Seth was going to consider that a step in the right direction. He took off his sweatshirt, causing his plain white t-shirt to rise up. Sasha raised her eyebrow in confusion but was too exhausted to ask what he was doing. He handed her the pullover. "Put it on Sasha and go to sleep, we'll have a few hours left on the road when you wake up."

Sasha still looked at him distrustfully but took it from him anyway and put it over the thin t-shirt she was wearing. Immediately, she snuggled into the oversized outerwear. It smelled like him and she hated herself for loving that fact. "We'll talk when you wake up. A real talk, no bullshit. I promise. I know it doesn't mean much anymore but please believe me," Seth pleaded.

Sasha slowly nodded and got as comfortable as she could possibly get in her seat. Seth backed out of the parking lot and they started on their long road trip. She had fallen asleep almost immediately so he turned on the radio softly. He decided to finally let out that giant sigh of relief he had been holding in. Sasha had let him in, even if it was just a little and he knew this was his last chance to make things right with Sasha. He damn sure wasn't going to screw it up. For now though, he would let her sleep. She deserved that much among so many other things.

* * *

I didn't expect any of this when I wrote this but the Ballins selfie and the NXT All Star Panel inspired me. Anyone else psyched for Sasha/Bayley Part II at NXT Takeover: Respect? I'm so excited. Next chapter is the road trip conversation. It's going to get real. Thanks to everyone who reviews, follows, and favorites! I enjoy all the feedback, continue to do so!


	9. Chapter 9

Sasha opened one eye to peek around at her surroundings. It was pitch black outside of her car window. She repositioned herself so she was facing the driver's side. Then, she became more aware of what was going on. Seth Rollins was driving her rental car and she was ever so cozy in his sweatshirt. For a few minutes, she just watched him. They were on a long two-way road and it seemed like they were the only car out there. The only two people out there.

Seth's hair fell around his face as he kept his eyes focused on the road. He bit his lip absentmindedly and noticed her eyes watching him from the corner of his eye. Sasha's left hand was resting between them on the armrest so he decided to alert her to the fact that he knew she was awake. With his left hand he kept the steering wheel steady, he used the right one to grab her hand, interlock their fingers, and press the outside of her hand against his lips.

"Mmm," Sasha closed her eyes and savored the moment. These were the times when it was so hard to remember all the wrong Seth had done. But so quickly, the bad memories came flooding back and Sasha gently pulled her hand back, resting it in her lap. The air became cold again so Seth decided to take control. He switched off the radio.

"It's time to talk? Okay, I'll go first. You have been stuck in my head since that first night in Brooklyn. I know I may not have always acted like it. I know I screwed up with the Zahra thing but you don't understand how I was feeling at that time. I was so determined to prove to everyone else that you didn't mean anything to me and I ended up becoming a douchebag in the process. And you know what? I hate you with the pits of my soul, Banks. I hate how you live in my mind and impact every decision I make. I hate how I embarrass myself everyday by literally begging. I hate how every time I was fucking Zahra's brains out to get you out of my head, which I ended up having to do quite a lot, I could only see YOUR face and hear YOUR voice!" Seth said venomously. Sasha flinched at the graphic description of his sexual escapades and Seth was furiously clutching the steering wheel at this point but he wasn't done ranting yet.

"I hate that 'we were only friends' lie that I tell myself to ignore the fact that it is you and it has always been you since that night I told you that you were amazing. I hate how you can manipulate me with your eyes. I hate that we had instant chemistry and how comfortable we were together. I hate that I didn't even think about getting mad when you came in MY bathroom to brush YOUR teeth while I showered those days you stayed my apartment. I hate that my friends, that you don't even talk to, always take your side and act like they're your freaking advocate," Seth sounded really annoyed as he said this. Sasha didn't mean to but she giggled a bit. He kept going.

"I hate that I knew how you felt about me and I took advantage of it so many damn times. I hate when you act like I'm the only one who messed up. I hate how you're the only person that understands my position in this crazy ass place called the WWE. I hate that I'm literally addicted to you and I most definitely hate that I'm about ready to risk it all because I can't do this without you babe and we were only friends for what? Two months? For two friends, this is a mighty intimate situation and I think we both know that. I know you're scared and I am deathly afraid because you go against everything I have ever believed about myself and women. I know I had an awful way of going about it but I only tried to push you away because it was all going too fast and I didn't want to get attached but I did, okay? I haven't slept. They actually sent me home from the gym one time because I was working way too hard and almost broke the damn equipment. I haven't had sex in like a month and a half. I've barely even thought about sex unless it's with, well, I'm not make you blush anymore than you probably already are but you catch my drift. I won't apologize for clinging to you so hard so if you want me to give up Sasha, I won't. Just know that deep down inside, beyond the Boss and the tough girl attitude, you do care about me and you're sensitive and you get emotional. Look you're crying now," Seth laughed and Sasha laughed too because he was so right. She really was a crier. "All I'm asking is that you don't give up on me because I will never give up on you. DEER!" Seth swerved the car to the side of the road and they skidded to a halt to avoid hitting the animal. He put the car in park. "Are you okay?"

Instead of freaking out over the fact that they almost committed animal homicide, Sasha burst out laughing.

"Have you lost your mind? We could've died or something," Seth tried to berate her but her laughter was infectious. He began to chuckle and soon enough they were both crying in laughter. It lasted for a few moments and Sasha quieted down first so Seth followed suit.

"They say I'm going to be the greatest female wrestler of all time. I'm supposed to surpass Trish, Lita, Gail, Kong, the other Kong, Manami fucking Toyota, and so many others. When I won the Rumble, Hunter told me that me and the girls are going to be like The Kliq of our generation. On Wednesday, I am going to participate in the biggest women's match in WWE history. I wasn't even supposed to go back to NXT but the Brooklyn event went so well, the fans wouldn't rest until they got their rematch. The Boss versus the Hugger in the first ever ironwoman match main-eventing a WWE live event special. Win or lose, I am a trailblazer for the rest of my life. Sasha Banks is the Boss. Sasha Banks is fearless. Sasha Banks can do anything. Sasha Banks is a big match performer, every big match she's ever been in was a classic. Sasha Banks has at least 3 or 4 out of the 10 best matches in NXT history. Sasha Banks has more Match of the Year candidates than anyone on the roster," Sasha started laughing again as she said all of this. Seth turned the car off. He was confused on where she was going with this.

"Well, you know what? Sasha Banks is terrified. I barely sleep and I don't even party. Creative won't even give me a clue about this big plan they have in store for me apparently and you know as well as I do that their plan could be really great or fucking awful. All of my friends are in the same boat so we're all high strung messes. I'm working so hard, Seth. I have been for so long and I'm living out my dreams. I'm flying so high and so fast that I'm terrified to fall. When we got close, I felt like you understood that and I leaned on you. You know what it's like to be expected to carry the torch and have so much pressure on you but you dipped out on me when I needed you. I needed your support so bad and you weren't there," she was crying serious tears at this point and Seth felt like shit. He wanted to wrap his arms around her but he knew that she needed to finish what she had to say.

"And I know I had no real claim over you and sometimes I had mini-temper tantrums because I didn't like Zahra rather than because I was mad at you. I couldn't help it and I'm not sorry because she was awful and you deserve way better. No matter how dark you think your soul has gotten, I never stopped seeing the light in you that she did absolutely nothing to bring out. I'm not going to lie and say I didn't wonder at times why I wasn't enough for you. I'm not going to lie and pretend that you and I don't click because we do. Our chemistry is spot on perfect. However, Seth I'm so tired. I can't ride the roller coaster by myself anymore and if you're down to ride, great. If you're not, I'm going to continue to learn to survive without you. I miss everything about you from your stupid hair to making mustaches on your face with shaving cream. Those text messages have been keeping me going for the last week and I want you to know something. I never hated you. No matter what, I'll always be your biggest fan", she said after she wiped her eyes. She was looking directly at him by now. "Plus, I do talk to your friends, all the time actually, i just told them not to tell you to piss you off," she giggled and he flipped her off.

"Well damn babe. First, you take my sanity. Now my friends too? Geesh!" They both laughed at this until a comfortable silence blanketed them. Seth was openly gazing at Sasha at this point and decided to go for it. He leaned over and cupped her cheek with his left hand, he closed his eyes and closed the distance until his lips made contact with her soft, tender...hand. His eyes flew open and he pulled back. "I thought we established that this was a more than platonic thing between you and me."

Sasha smirked and replied, "We did establish that but you still have a lot to prove and a lot of lost time to make up for, Rollins and until you do, we're going to be the best FRIENDS ever."

"Fuck it," Seth said, deciding to risk her wrath. With no warning, he leaned over and quickly pecked her on the lips before she could stop him. Then, he cranked up the car and got them back on the road. She couldn't hit him if he was driving.

She sat there in shock. Her lips tingled from the gentle, swift peck. She touched them with her fingers. It wasn't even a full second long but it was like so much emotion got transferred through it. It was Seth's boyish way of saying that he was he here now to go on this journey with her and he was all in. Although she was lowkey thrilled, she had to save face. "That won't happen again, Rollins," Sasha said in a nonchalant tone.

"Yes it will, I'm banking on it," Seth replied cheekily. Sasha rolled her eyes at his cheap pun. "Don't get me wrong, I agree with everything you said. I know I have to earn the right to fully be with you and I have no problem with that. However, every time I see you I'm going to kiss you, not only to let you know that I missed you but also to let every guy in that locker room know that even though we're not together and even though we're still trying to get things right, you're still mines. Don't worry, I'm not going to French kiss you, tongue you down, or rip your clothes off and have my way with you, just a peck on the lips and I won't go any further than that. However, if you ever want to do any of those things, I am fully on board," Seth added. Sasha laughed even though she didn't mean to. She was touched by how sincere he was about his affection for her. "Seriously though, I've wasted too much time. WE'VE wasted too much time. Two freaking months passed and I've had to go to CrossFit alone. I've had to go to Starbucks alone. By the way, I bet you've already decimated those gift cards I sent you. From the guilty expression on your face, I was right. See Banks, we're so much better as a team. Who needs gift cards when you have Seth service to bring a cup a day to keep the fatigue away?"

"This is very true," Sasha chuckled.

"Of course I know what's true. See what I did there? Another one of your puns. Anyway, we need each other, Banks. Life is too hard to have nothing to believe in and luckily, I believe in you a great deal. We're literally like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, your Starbucks obsession and my shrinking debit card balance. Just kidding but we really do fit together, babe. We can be whatever you want us to be as long as you're in my life. Is that a deal?" he questioned, peeping at her from the corner of his eyes while still trying to pay attention to the road.

"I think I'd like that, friend," she said and smirked at him. He grabbed her hand again and kissed it. This time, she didn't pull away so he let their interlocked hands rest between them. "However, I think that letting me choose the radio station would be an awesome show of good faith."

"Agh fine. Look at you babe, you haven't missed a step when it comes to bossing me around," Seth joked as she adjusted the radio to a station of her liking.

"Of course I haven't, you wouldn't have it any other way," Sasha responded, beaming at him. Seth squeezed her hand gently and they continued on their journey to Smackdown tapings.

* * *

In honor of Sasha and Bayley's historic match tonight plus that awesome WWE 24: NXT, I decided to write this way early. This one was very dialogue heavy. School has been cancelled for the week due to flooding in my state so I have so much free time. I'm okay, I still have power, water, etc but pray for South Carolina, a lot of people got hit hard by the floods and it's a lot of damage. Anyway, how proud are you all of Seth and Sasha? They've grown up a bit but still have a long way to go. I think you're going to be shocked as WWE Creative's plans for Sasha unfold but you're going to love it. Also, I'm still working on the Balor/Lynch story and I'm seriously considering writing a flashback chapter at some point about one of the times Sasha stayed over at Seth's apartment. I love all of my reviewers. Continue to read, review, follow, and favorite!


	10. Chapter 10

_Flashbacks are in Italics_

This was it. Sasha had just finished all post-match picture taking. She gave her flowers to Bayley's biggest fan Izzy after making her cry earlier in the night. Her hair was all over her head, her makeup was a joke, and her body was shaking because not only had she taken the ass-beating of a lifetime, the tears would not stop rolling. Everyone from Hideo Itami to Kevin Nash had approached her to shake her hand or give her a hug. They all thanked her and only then did she realize the magnitude of what she had done, what they had done.

"Sasha," the blubbering mess that was Bayley found her in the crowd of people backstage and called out to her. No more words needed to be said. They hugged without cameras on them and they cried ugly tears and bawled. They had done it. They were legends.

"Thank you so much," Sasha said. They pulled away from each other and laughed at how terrible they both looked. She saw Bayley look ahead then smile cheesily.

"I'll leave you two alone," Bayley walked off to go speak with her family and celebrate while Sasha tilted her head in confusion before turning around and seeing Seth standing behind her.

"How are you here? You're supposed to be in-," Sasha sputtered but Seth stopped her.

"Don't worry about it, just know that I could not and would not miss this for the world. I got here like 2 minutes into the match so I don't think I really missed anything but you are so evil," Seth joked and Sasha laughed. She assumed that he was referring to her making a little girl cry and taunting her family.

"I still can't believe I did that and in my head, I felt so bad but I just kept going and being worse and worse. Apparently badgering a little girl was the highlight of a lot of people's nights," they both laughed at this. There was still a cordial distance between the two of them which Seth didn't like at all.

Backstage was packed with people buzzing over the spectacular show that was NXT Takeover: Respect. At this point, Seth could care less who was there. If he had it his way, he would kiss this woman's breath away until she couldn't even see straight. However, he remembered Sasha's rules and decided not to break them. He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to his chest and wrapping his arms around her. Sasha melted against him and looked up to see his face. He leaned down and softly pressed his lips against hers for a few moments before pulling away. Seth was almost positive that Stephanie and Hunter saw that but he didn't care. This moment was all about Sasha.

"Oh my gosh, Seth. You're going to get us in troub-," he cut her off by doing it again. This time he was positive that Hunter and Steph saw it but once again, he did not care.

"Go shower and get dressed, you're going to sleep for a full 12 hours tonight. You earned it," he ordered and let her go. She rolled her eyes but obliged anyway because she was so tired.

As soon as she walked away, Hunter approached Seth.

"I see you're still corrupting the female talent," Triple H joked and Seth gained a steely expression.

"It's not even like that," Seth responded.

"Calm down, Rollins. I'm just joking. Anyone with eyes can see that your balls no longer belong to you. Only a madman would drive 6 hours to come to Full Sail after having appearances all this morning. And before you ask, yes it is that obvious. You smell like fast food and gasoline," Hunter said.

Seth blushed, "Haha but I have a question. Sasha has been freaking out lately. She knows she has the Divas title shot at Wrestlemania but that's it and she's freaking out about her upcoming creative plans. Is there anything you can tell me or her to ease her mind a bit?" Seth whispered.

Triple H pondered his statement for a moment. "Tell her this. The original plan was okay but consider it as good as gone. Tonight gave me the idea of a lifetime and you tell Sasha that I will fight main-roster creative tooth and nail to make sure that my plan comes to fruition. Neither of you should worry," and with that he clapped Seth on the back and went off to go find his wife.

While he waited on her to come out of the locker room, Seth thought back to the first day off they had ever spent together.

* * *

 _"Do not, I repeat, do not drop your bags in the doorway. Put them in the closet please," Seth tried to tell Sasha but she ignored him, dropping her two suitcases and her carry on as soon as she walked in the door._

 _"I'm so tired, why is it so many stairs to get up here?" Sasha inquired while looking around for the kitchen, which she found quickly. Seth groaned and picked up her bags to put them all in the hallway closet._

 _When he came back, she was already sitting at his kitchen island drinking orange juice. He rolled his eyes. Sasha was trying to test the waters to see how far she could go before he snapped. He didn't think she realized that she was completely welcome to do whatever she wanted. Seth liked not being alone in the apartment for once but he wasn't going to tell her that._

 _"Remind me why I let you stay in my house," Seth grimaced._

 _She narrowed her eyes at him and cocked her head to the side. "Because I'm the only girl that likes your for your craptastic personality and doesn't come to your apartment to screw you," she shot back and he put his hands up in defeat. She had him there._

 _Sasha giggled and gave Seth a hug that he reluctantly returned. "It's okay, Rollins. I was joking, well no I wasn't but never mind that now, where do you keep your peanut butter?" She said and released him to go rummage in his cabinets. Seth ran along after her, trying to keep up._

* * *

"Well if it isn't Sasha Banks in the flesh," Dean laughed and pulled Sasha in for a hug. She happily obliged and had just came back through the curtain.

The crowd in Chicago was electric for her. The divas match scheduled for the night was Naomi versus Nikki Bella. Sasha was on commentary but before the match, they played a video package of her historic match with Bayley and the crowd would not shut up about her throughout the entire match. "We Want Sasha!" "We Want Sasha!" Considering the fact that she was a tweener that still favored her heel side a bit more, the reaction was crazy.

"You already know what's true," she joked.

"Damn you look great. Ro! Doesn't Sasha look great?" Dean waved Roman over to come see what he was talking about. Sasha did look more beautiful than normal and it wasn't even anything that she did in particular. Her ring gear and crop top was the same as usual even though her shorts made her butt look awfully cute. Her hair was straight and her makeup seemed simple with her lips their signature color. Something was different about her though. Sasha was glowing. People that truly knew her could tell that she was still exhausted but at least now she was happier than words could express. Dean was happy too after winning the United States Championship from John Cena at the Royal Rumble.

Roman walked up and slung his arm around Sasha's shoulders. He said, "Of course she is, she has the whole world wrapped around her finger. Or maybe it's just Seth."

Sasha blushed and hid her face in Roman's chest which was actually more like his stomach because of how short she was.

"Don't try to hide now, Banks. This time last week, you were a fucking zombie. Now you're smiling so hard, I'm afraid the corners of your lips are going to explode," Dean said.

"How is our boy anyway?" Roman asked.

"He's great and he's right here. Hands off the Banks, Reigns," Seth appeared behind them and answered for himself. Sasha walked over to stand beside him but she kept her arms by her sides, unsure if Seth wanted to show affection around their friends. To her surprise, he grabbed her hand and kissed the inside of her palm before releasing it.

Dean and Roman started making fake puking noises.

"I hate you guys," Sasha said in a non-serious tone. Seth looked at her, truly looked at her. It was obvious that she was still exhausted but she was glowing with happiness. She was smiling so brightly and looking up at him with so much care in her eyes that it scared him.

All it took for her to smile like that was for him to get his head out of his ass. Seth felt terrible for waiting so long and in that moment, he felt perfect. He was surrounded by his brothers who were immensely proud of him, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship sat on one shoulder, and the greatest woman he had ever met had her hand in his.

Sasha caught him staring and kissed his cheek instinctively and they both finished listening to Roman and Dean rattle over about their crazy road trip without Seth.

* * *

 _"I'm in the shower. Sasha GET OUT!" Seth screamed, now painfully aware that the foggy glass of his shower stall door wasn't much protection against wandering eyes._

 _"Shut up, I just want to brush my teeth and you said this bathroom had the citrus flavored toothpaste in it," Sasha yelled over the loud water while putting toothpaste on her toothbrush. "Besides, I already saw your nudes. Everyone did." She chuckled and started brushing her teeth._

 _Seth cursed to himself and turned the shower off. He stuck out his arm and grabbed the towel that he had set aside earlier for himself and wrapped it around his waist. Seth walked out and ended up standing behind Sasha in the mirror._

 _Water dripped from his soaking wet hair and dripped down the crevices of his chest and abs. Instead of being intimidated or in awe, Sasha laughed and finished brushing her teeth. She was wearing a large Boston College sweatshirt, cotton shorts, and her glasses with her hair falling around her shoulders in waves. Seth rolled his eyes at her and walked out the bathroom to get dressed but was secretly relieved that she acted so comfortable and natural there. He surprised himself by asking her to spend their days off together and was even more surprised when she said yes._

 _A few minutes later, Sasha was laying on his bed flipping through his Netflix queue. Seth appeared in sweats and was unsure if he should lay next to Sasha or not. He didn't know if they were close enough for that yet but Sasha patted the space next to her so he assumed that i was alright._

 _At first, he sat erect on the bed, not wanting to get too comfortable. Without taking her eyes off the screen, Sasha patted her lap to let him know it was okay to lay on her. He raised an eyebrow but still placed his head on her thighs. With her free hand, she began to stroke his hair. It felt so good that Seth figured a quick nap couldn't hurt._

* * *

Seth was torn internally. He had been portraying a role of having everything under control and all the answers but he really was having cold feet about Sasha. It had nothing to do with her. She was sexy, brilliant, talented, and most of all, she cared for him beyond measure. Not to be mistaken, he appreciated all of those things about her but he was afraid now.

He knew he had a knack for fucking things up and it scared him how deep she was embedded into his soul. Still, he had pulls internally to resume his past of destructive behavior.

He was laying in his bed in Florida late on a Thursday night. It was one of his rare days off that Sasha had to work. She was texting him but it wasn't enough. He craved companionship. He craved her.

Another person was texting him as well. Zahra had been texting him recently. Usually he ignored her but recently he had started to become impatient about waiting on Sasha to trust him again. He was doing everything in his power to make her believe in him but he could tell that she was still wary, still cautious that he would disappear. Some days when he tried to hug her, she would freeze up or when he tried to kiss her, there were many times that she pulled away.

Tonight he had decided to text Zahra back and currently their conversation was platonic but he could tell that she wanted to take PG to NC-17 very quickly.

 ** _I heard you were in town. Wanna go do something? I can come over ;)_**

Seth stared at the text on his phone. It was obvious that "do something" meant them both being naked on the floor of his bedroom while he rammed into her like a savage.

The offer was tempting. Sasha was miles away and he hated to admit it but he was growing jealous of her. Everybody loves Sasha Banks. She was Superstar AND Diva of the Year, drop dead gorgeous, and a natural badass. The sky was the limit for her while he feuded with people like Kane and was barely taken seriously as a champion. Sasha freaked out about her future but what he didn't let her know is that he was freaked out too. In the WWE, you could be The Rock today and Doink the Clown tomorrow.

* * *

 _"Ahhhh yeah! Go Rollins!"' Sasha cheered Seth on. They were playing Guitar Hero in his living room and wearing nothing but large button down shirts, underwear, and tube socks because that was totally rock and roll. It was a week after their grand revelation in the car and things were better than good. They were amazing._

 _Seth dropped to his knees as he finished his solo in "Slow Ride", exaggerating in the process. Sasha continued to laugh and clap for him._

 _He finally finished and threw the guitar on the floor before collapsing on the couch. Sasha jumped into his lap with her arms wrapped his neck. To support her body, his hand was intended to be on the small of her back but in all honesty, it was closer to her ass than anything else._

 _"What do you want to do next?" She asked eagerly and he moved a lock of hair out of her face and gave a reassuring smile._

 _"What if we do absolutely nothing?" He offered._

 _"Huh?"_

 _"You heard me. The lights are already dim, I just kicked major ass in Guitar Hero, I have the day off and most importantly, I have the woman of my dreams in my lap looking quite delicious," Seth smirked and rubbed her thighs. Sasha slapped his hand away but had a playful expression on her face. He wrapped his arms around her tight and she tucked her head under his chin. "Anyway, like I was saying, I think we should just sit right here and be Seth and Sasha wearing button down shirts and underwear because they thought it was cool. Plus, I kind of stalk your every move. Is that okay with you babe?" Seth asked and they both laughed at his stalker comment._

 _Sasha looked up at him and in that moment she was almost positive that she would've followed him to the ends of the Earth if he asked. "It's fine with me," she smiled and he kissed the tip of her nose and started telling her a story about something completely random._

* * *

Seth snapped out of his flash back and stared at his phone again. It would be so easy to just text Zahra back and tell her to come over. After all, Sasha did say that they were just friends. He typed out the message to say yes to Zahra and his thumb hovered over the send button. Sasha's face and Dean and Roman's voice popped up in his mind. Seth erased the words he originally typed and wrote a new message and sent it.

 **I am in town but I don't think us continuing to communicate is a good idea after all. Good luck with your life but don't text me again.**

After that, he deleted her number and texted Sasha goodnight. He just hoped she knew how hard he was trying to a man she could trust and be proud of.

* * *

Sorry this took so long, I've been swamped with work and school and there hasn't been enough Sasha on my screen lately for inspiration but I finally got it out to you all. I kept getting stuck but this is what happens when you force yourself to write after severe writer's block lol I hope you like it. Next update will have important things happening. This is the longest chapter I've ever written and includes some cute flashbacks. Thank you to all who read, review, follow, and favorite! Continue to do so, I'll do my best to update soon!


	11. Chapter 11

7 Months Later..

" _You're out for 6 months at the least."_

" _You're going to miss Wrestlemania."_

" _We're so sorry, Seth."_

Seth sat in his private locker room after Battleground and looked down at the WWE championship he held in his hands. Alberto Del Rio held a WWE Open Challenge at the event and no one expected Seth Rollins to make his long-awaited return after his torn ACL and win back the title that he was forced to vacate. He immediately went back to the top of the totem pole and once again was "the man" but he was already absolutely miserable.

He had injured himself at a house show and when he received his diagnosis, he spent six months in seclusion. He accepted calls from no one, not Dean, not Roman, and definitely not Sasha Banks. Instead of staying in Florida to rehab, he went back to Iowa with his family and sulked.

Did he know that he was being childish? Absolutely. However, he couldn't bring himself to show his face to them. His life had been perfect and it all came crashing down in a matter of seconds and he couldn't handle it. He couldn't handle not getting his way.

When Hunter called him and told him it was time for him to return, Seth was immediately afraid. He didn't know how Dean or Roman or Sasha would react to his return.

There was a knock on the door of the locker room, causing Seth to freeze and look up. He was still sweating and shirtless but he opened the door anyway and was greeted by a big right hook to the cheek. Roman. He knew that swing anywhere. Dean wasn't too far behind and hit him on the left side. He should've expected that. Seth held his jaw and let them walk in before closing the door behind him.

"That was for Banks," Roman said and Seth looked at the ground.

"Mines was from us. You can't just fall off the grid, Rollins. Roman was really worried about you," Dean mumbled and Seth smiled before spontaneously hugging Dean and Roman. That was Dean's way of saying "I love you" and he understood that. They awkwardly patted his back a few times before he finally released them.

"I'm sorry guys. I just had to get away. Seriously how is Sasha? I've seen her on tv. I know she lost at Wrestlemania and was off tv for 2 months," Seth said and flopped down into a chair.

"No more hugs please and well, when Banks didn't go over at Wrestlemania, she really was burnt out with severe exhaustion, dehydration, and neck soreness. When you left, she kind of just threw herself into work. She still talks to us but mostly she hangs out with Breeze, the New Day boys and the other horsewomen," Dean offered. He pulled a pack of M&Ms out of his pocket and offered some to Roman but none to Seth because he was still pissed off at him.

Seth was ashamed of himself. So much had happened while he was gone. Dean was the Intercontinental Champion after a thriller of a rivalry with Kevin Owens that culminated at Money in the Bank and Roman won the United States Championship from John Cena at Wrestlemania, signifying a passing of the torch. However, Sasha, undeniably the most popular star of 2015, had nothing to show for her stellar highlight reel. Worst of all, he wasn't there to have her back.

"I'm a dick", Seth murmured.

"Yup!" Dean and Roman said in unison before breaking off into conversation amongst themselves about the show earlier.

Seth got lost in thought and was extremely angry at himself. Sasha had warned him about abandoning her and he promised so many things and went back on every one of them.

He didn't know what to do. He had everything he wanted except his girl.

There was another knock on the door.

"Sheesh, a lot of people must want to punch you tonight, Rollins," Dean got up and opened the door to reveal Hunter with a very tired Sasha Banks in tow.

"This is great, all of you are here already. Let's talk about tomorrow night on RAW," Hunter rubbed his hands together in excitement.

Seth was confused and looked over at Sasha who also seemed unaware of what was going on. She wouldn't look at him and his heart sunk. She was even more beautiful than he remembered and in that moment, she was the only girl in the world and he loved her with every fiber of his being. The thought scared him but he couldn't help it. Seth Rollins was head over heels in love with Sasha Banks and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He sunk into his chair and listened in for Hunter's brilliant idea.

* * *

"Did you miss me?" For someone who was the most hated man in the company when he got injured, the cheers were deafening as Seth addressed the WWE Universe for the first time in months to kickoff Monday Night Raw. He adjusted the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on his shoulder and smirked. They were gonna love this. "I know you did. But I know some people who didn't miss me. Let's talk about The Authority who claimed my injury was due to me being weak and that they made me. They said that I was nothing before they "adopted" me and that I'd be nothing after them," Seth said and the crowd booed. "I may be wrong but this doesn't seem like 'nothing' to me," Seth raised the title belt in the air and the crowd went wild.

Stephanie and Hunter appeared on the TitanTron. "You're absolutely right, Seth. You've been nothing short of impressive since your return last night but we have one final test for you tonight. For the Authority to truly know if you're ready to be an A+ player, you must defeat Sheamus tonight in our main event. Good luck, Seth. You're going to need it," Stephanie proclaimed before the screen went black once more.

* * *

The match was almost over. Sheamus had blatantly cheated many times in front of the referee but for some reason, he was never reprimanded. Still, Seth managed to stay alive in the match and win with a frog splash that Eddie Guerrero would have been proud of. The referee raised his hand in victory and the entire Authority(Hunter, Stephanie, Rusev, King Barrett, and Big Show) walked out onto the ramp and clapped for him.

"Congratulations, Seth. Welcome back to the family," Hunter grinned.

Seth grabbed a mic and smirked, "Thanks for the offer but no thanks."

The Authority all looked taken aback. Stephanie led them all into the ring and pleaded with Seth. "Come on, you can't be serious. You know as well as we do that the best moments of your career happened because you were in the Authority. Don't make a mistake," Stephanie warned.

"Oh trust me, Stephanie. I'm not making a mistake, I'm fixing one," Seth said before smiling cheekily. _Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta._ The music for the Shield hit for the first time in years and the crowd went absolutely nuts. The United States and Intercontinental champions wasted no time coming through the crowd and into the ring where a brawl immediately broke out. Roman was energized and hit a Superman Punch on Big Show to send him flying from the ring. Dean performed Dirty Deeds on Sheamus while Seth handled King Barrett in quick fashion. Soon enough, the only people that remained in the ring were The Shield, Hunter, and Stephanie. The Authority looked horrified as they realized that the Hounds of Justice possessed all 3 of the male singles titles in the company and were obviously as strong ever.

Stephanie was livid and got in Seth's face. "How dare you step in my ring and disrespect me? Disrespect us?" she spat, motioning to herself and her husband. "We gave you everything and you repay us by going back to these two imbeciles. What kind of man are you?" Stephanie fired off before slapping Seth across the face. "Come on, Seth. What are you gonna do? Hit me? Come on!" She slapped him again on the other side. "You're gonna hit a woman? Come on!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now boys, what did I say about starting all the fun without me?" Without music, Sasha Banks surprised the crowd and walked down the ramp before dropping the mic when she got in the ring. She had on all black ring gear but her boss accessories remained on her neck and hands. At this point, the crowd was absolutely enthralled. She immediately stepped in front of Seth and stared into Stephanie's soul. Stephanie was livid and attempted to slap Sasha but Sasha caught her arm and swiveled her around to perform her signature double knees backbreaker on Stephanie but Hunter grabbed Steph and pulled her out of the ring before Sasha could lock in the Bank Statement.

Seth, Dean, and Roman lined up next to Sasha. Seth tried to stand directly next to Sasha but she breezed past him and stood between Dean and Roman instead. Seth hated himself for stooping so low but he wanted to stand close to her so fans could take pictures and make edits and possibly remind her how great they once were together.

Roman stuck his fist out first and couldn't hide his grin. Damn, it felt good to be back. Dean put his fist in next while banging his head to imaginary music, followed by Seth who risked breaking character with the puppy eyes he kept locked on Sasha. Sasha was last with her gold boss ring shining under the arena lights wearing a smirk on her face and she was talking trash as usual and the audience was eating it up. That was the final image on screen before Raw went off air with a clear message. The Shield was back and they brought in reinforcements.

* * *

"That's what I'm talking about people! Great show tonight, you four did an awesome job!" Hunter and Stephanie praised them all once everyone was backstage before walking off.

Roman had his arms slung around Dean and Sasha. "I just wanna be the first one to say that I don't want Banks in The Shield because that means I'm no longer the pretty one. That's right, I said it," Roman joked and everyone laughed. Seth stood a bit off to the side. Even though he was back, he sort of felt like a stranger. Of course he was going to miss things when he got injured, but he was the one that chose to cut himself completely out of their lives. Now he had to live with the consequences.

"I just wanna say that we should've added you years ago because that crowd...oh my gosh I haven't seen anything that fucking electric in so long. They were eating out of our hands," Dean noted and they all nodded their heads in agreement.

Seth was about to say something but as soon as he opened his mouth, someone else was talking.

"Oh my gosh, it's Sasha!" Tyler Breeze mocked his entrance music as he came up to Sasha. They searched each other's eyes for a few moments before they both started laughing. Tyler picked Sasha's small body up and swung her around in a circle much like Seth used to do. That didn't sit too well with Seth and he raised his eyebrow. "You made it, Sassy Sashie!"

Tyler put her down and she interlocked her elbow with his. "I'll see you guys at the Smackdown taping tomorrow, bye!" Sasha addressed Dean and Roman while blatantly ignoring Seth. She walked off with Tyler, quickly enamored with the conversation he had engaged her in.

Seth was a plethora of emotions. He was confused. He was sad. He was jealous. He was angry. Most of all, he was guilty. "Sassy Sashie? What kind of name is that? That guy is so corny," Seth, now red due to his current state of anger, mumbled. He knew that it was his fault and that all of this could've been avoided but he wanted to act like a child and he lost the woman of his dreams. In fact, he actually liked Breeze but he was currently Public Enemy Number 1 for being that close to his girl.

Dean and Roman chuckled. "Save it, Rollins. You lost your chance. Let Banks be happy and this time, we're not asking," Roman warned and he and Dean headed to the locker room. Once again, at what was supposed to be his peak, Seth was alone and a permanent resident at Hotel Rock Bottom.

* * *

Don't kill me, I know it's been almost a month but I did not forget about this story. I was struggling to find time to write plus Seth's injury (it's so awful, I'm going to miss him so much) threw me for a loop but the direction this story is headed is inspired by a Tumblr edit I found of Sasha in the Shield that I'm going to put on my Fanfiction profile so you guys can see it. Thank you to everyone who supports and will continue to support this story. I promise to update sooner next time. Review, follow, and favorite, please! Btw, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


	12. Chapter 12

"You have to talk to him eventually Sasha," Tyler prodded her and she shot him a death glare. It had been 3 weeks since she had joined The Shield. It was awesome, the fans were on fire every night, merchandise was selling out on a nightly basis, and career-wise the four of them had never been higher. However, Sasha was burning on the inside. Seth ran through her mind constantly and it didn't help that they had to be together on camera 24/7. She couldn't let her real emotions show and she thought she was doing a good job but even her fans had suspicions on tension between her and Seth. They loved the storyline but they wanted closer exchanges. If Sasha was completely honest with herself, she wanted to be closer to Seth too.

"Shut your face, Tyler," Sasha put her hands over her ears and rolled her eyes. He was right but that didn't mean that she was ready to admit it.

"Dean and Roman don't want to say it out loud but they're waiting for things to get unawkward. You won't even look at him unless a promo is involved and even then you still manage to give him a side eye. It's like you're still bathing in your anger. It's a miracle that Hunter hasn't said anything about the interactions between two of his biggest stars," Tyler added.

Sasha frowned. Even if Tyler was right, she had every right to be pissed off. Seth had vanished into thin air right when they were supposed to be growing together. It had been months.

"I hate him, Tyler. I really do," she whispered. She dropped her head down and her long dark pinkish-purple hair fell around her face.

Tyler grabbed her face and made her look up at him. Her eyes shined with tears that she refused to let fall. "Hate is a love-based emotion, Sashie. I don't think I need to say anymore. You two obviously still have feelings for each other and I'm done beating around the bush. If you really didn't care about him, it wouldn't even matter. You'd be able to cut promos with ease and walk away right afterwards but you can't do that and someone needs to stop you before you have a broken career to match your broken heart," Tyler urged before kissing her forehead and picking up his blinged out selfie stick. He had a match to be at.

Sasha's head dropped again and she held her forehead in her palm, letting his words sink in. Luckily, she had wrestled in the first hour of Smackdown and wouldn't have to come out again until the end of the second hour because right now, she was an absolute mess.

"I see you two are pretty cozy," a familiar voice said. She couldn't quite place who it was because her mind was all over the place.

"No, we're just friends, more like family to be honest-Seth? What are you doing? I don't owe you a damn thing," Sasha explained herself until she looked up and figured out who she was actually talking to. Her skin turned red hot and her fists clenched. Seth hated to say it but he loved when she got like this. Any reaction was a good reaction at this point. He had watched Sasha and Tyler from a distance and got even more jealous by the second when he got closer to her. Sasha soothed his mind when she confirmed that nothing was going on but in order to receive confirmation, he had to be on the receiving end of her wrath.

 _You don't but that won't make me stop hoping you'll forgive me,_ Seth thought in his head but didn't say it. "Good, you wouldn't want people to get the wrong impression or anything," Seth mumbled and scratched his head. Sasha rolled her eyes and slid off the production crate that she was sitting on.

"Of course not. Don't you just hate getting the wrong impression? Kind of like when you get completely invested in a person and they disappear for 7 months or maybe even when they come back and can't even say the word 'sorry'. I guess you never truly know anyone, huh?" Sasha retorted before walking away.

Seth was speechless. He watched her walk away and was mesmerized by the curves of her body in her black and gold ring gear. She was gorgeous with perfect curls and the careful way she walked. It was obvious she was angry from the way she was stomping down the hall. Hopefully, she'd be in a better mood in their closing segment for the night..

* * *

Sheamus versus Roman Reigns ended in disqualification when Rusev, Wade Barrett, and Alberto Del Rio interfered in the match by running in and starting to beat Roman down.

Sasha ran out with Seth and Dean even though the numbers were stacked against them. How was a girl less than 130 pounds supposed to take on the heavyweights in the ring? The answer was that she wasn't. All she was supposed to do tonight was take down Lana when she tried to hand Rusev a chair from the outside. Sasha did exactly that, flinging the blonde into the steel steps.

She was bored after that, looking at the action in the ring and inserting trash talk here and there to seem interested. Her attention was drawn to Seth, he was in the improper position for a Brogue Kick. He was supposed to be able to duck under it and clothesline Sheamus over the top rope but at the rate he was going, he would be face-first with Sheamus' foot within 10 seconds, effectively ruining the plan and even worse, getting hurt.

Sasha stopped thinking and before she knew it, she was in the ring delivering a double-knees backbreaker to Sheamus out of nowhere. The crowd went ballistic and she could feel Seth's eyes burning into her back but she couldn't focus on him. The Boss was here to put on a show. Sasha was about to lock in the Bank Statement but Sheamus scrambled out of the ring to lean on his other fallen teammates near the entrance ramp.

 _Been waitin' on that sunshine, boy_

 _I think I need that back_

 _Can't do it like that_

 _No one else gon' get it like that_

 _So why argue? You yell, but cha take me back_

 _Who cares, when it feels like crack?_

 _Boy, ya know that you always do it right_

Seth looked at Sasha and she met his gaze for once. There was so much love and sorrow that he was conveying in just a glance but there was something else: stealing the show. Without saying a word, they both ran to the ropes and bounced off to fly in the air for twin suicide dives to take everyone out. Sasha and Seth were winded but for the first time in forever, even if it was just for a moment, they were complete. Seth decided to take advantage of the moment and put his arm loosely around Sasha's neck, keeping her skin to skin with their sweaty bodies, her perky butt against his awoken pelvis. She surprised him and relaxed into his touch, placing her hand on the crook of his elbow and squeezing gently.

Dean and Roman joined their victory celebration, putting their fists in the middle of their circle. The audience couldn't tell but it was quite obvious to Seth and Sasha that they were extremely shocked. Seth and Sasha joined in, using their free hands that weren't embracing each other. The Shield was strong and right now, only for the next minute or so, so were Seth and Sasha. Seth buried his face in her hair and he was sure that to the audience he seem like the cocky, fatigued bastard they loved. Even though that was true, he took the time to whisper in Sasha's ear right before Smackdown went off air, "I will never give up on you or us again." Her face was still smirking to the crowd as the screen faded around the world but internally, she was dying.

 _Man, fuck yo pride_

 _Just take it on back, boy, take it on back, boy_

 _Take it back all night_

 _Just take it on back, take it on back_

 _Mmm, do what cha gotta do, keep me up all night_

 _Hurtin' vibe, man, it hurts inside when I look you in yo eye_

* * *

Sasha laid down on the bed in her room after a long shower. She couldn't function with having anyone around her so went home instead of spending time with her NXT pals. She'd make it up to them later but right now, she needed the solitude. She didn't remember much from Smackdown a few hours before. Every thing she did was fueled by adrenaline and passion that she hadn't felt in over 7 months. She did remember slapping Seth as soon as they stepped back through the curtain (she didn't even really know why) and storming off, only to run into Stephanie who praised her for her improvisation. She had sensed that something was about to go wrong as well and was about to come out and cut an impromptu promo to stop it all right when Sasha got in the ring and interfered in the she ran into Sheamus who fist bumped her for her performance. Sasha realized that at this rate, she'd never get out of there so she ran like a bat out of hell, got her things, and ran out of the arena. She didn't even change out of her ring gear. She just put on a zip up hoodie and some sweatpants so she could just leave it all behind.

Now she just stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She hadn't even planned on going home, she was actually going to spend her days off with Bayley but she couldn't face anyone for at least another 12 hours. All of her NXT friends lived within a 20 mile proximity and she prayed that it took them awhile to figure out that she was here. She had caught the first flight to Tampa that she could and was home in less than 3 hours. Now, it was 4 am and she still couldn't sleep. Hell, she couldn't even get dressed. Sasha was still wearing only a sports bra and Nike Pro shorts. On a whim, she tied her hair up and put on running shoes. She needed to run and hopefully outrun her mind. Sasha was still unsure why she felt the need to "save" Seth. Her logical side told her that she did it so they didn't look bad as a team and get in trouble with management. Her heart told her that even after all that he had done, she'd rather die than ever see him get hurt. Plus, she hated herself for melting into him when he embraced her. She was also embarrassed that she just slapped him and ran off. His words were what haunted her the most. How was she supposed to believe that he wouldn't give up on her again. In all actuality, he still hadn't formally apologized and there was a very valid possibility that he wasn't sorry and didn't see an issue with his actions. After all, this was Seth "What are consequences?" Rollins.

Sasha grabbed her headphones and slipped her house key and phone into her arm band to get started on her run. Her breath hitched in her throat when she opened the door. Seth was asleep on the doorstep of her apartment and Sasha couldn't take it, she began to laugh and cry at the same time, unsure of what to feel.

 _What are you willing to do?_

 _Oh, tell me what you're willing to do_

 _(Kiss it, kiss it better, baby)_

 _Oh, what are you willing to do?_

 _Oh, tell me what you're willing to do_

 _(Kiss it, kiss it better, baby)_

Her conflicting sounds woke Seth up and he looked up at her partially clothed body shining like twenty-four carat gold in the moonlight. He didn't even know that she was home already. In fact, he thought he had gotten to her apartment before her and honestly he just assumed that she'd come eventually. He was so in love with her and it drove him insane not being able to pick her up and throw her on the bed and do unspeakable things even though they never technically crossed those type of lines. He heard her sobs (she had stopped laughing awhile ago) and he got on his feet, leaving his duffle bag on the ground. "Sasha, don't cry. Please, baby, for me," he pleaded and she slapped him again for the second time in four hours. Seth had to remind himself again that any reaction was a good reaction at this point.

"Shut the hell up, Rollins. You do not get to call me baby, you do not get to try to rein me back in on national television, and you do not get to come to my apartment and expect me to stop crying when time after time, YOU are the person who put tears in my eyes time and time again!" Sasha screamed. She didn't care if she woke up the neighbors or not. Tonight, she was going to let out her feelings for once and for all. Seth needed to be held accountable for his actions and Sasha Banks was going to act as the Sheriff.

"Sasha, I-," Seth tried to speak but he was cut off.

"Sasha nothing. Is that a bag? Wow, you're really sure of yourself. What do I look like? An idiot? Oh, that's right. I'm stupid Sasha Banks that always forgives your sorry ass and lets you back in even though you don't deserve it," she growled, accentuating the last few words with punches to his chest and he caught her fists and held them. "Do you even have anything to say for yourself, Rollins?"

He really looked at her and felt so ashamed of himself. She was really broken and it was all his fault. She needed him and he left her and there was no one to blame but himself. He was lost for words and still holding her hands but had to say something.

"I just wanted to say thank you for saving me. You didn't have to come through for me but you did. You always do," Seth was sincere as he said this and Sasha held her head down and cried silently, her fast tears coating their interlocked hands. "I'm a dick and I don't deserve you but I meant what I said. I will never give up on you or us. You are my world, my reason to keep going and Sasha baby I am such an idiot for not realizing that sooner. Even after all we've been through, she still have my back and I'll never know why but I'll never stop being grateful for your care and generosity. Of course, I'd love to hang out with you for these next few days but I also know that I'm not in the position to be making demands. Just know that I will camp out in your driveway if it means being close to you," he continued.

She sniffled and tears kept falling because even though everything he said was beautiful, he still hadn't said the words that she was waiting to hear.

He released her hands and held her chin in his fingers to make sure they were making eye contact, "By the way, Sasha. I am so, so sorry...for everything. For Zahra, for leaving, for using you, for craving you, for taking advantage of you, and most of all, for hurting you. I never knew that hurting you would kill me too because you're a part of me now whether I like it or not."

Sasha's heart soared and she smiled faintly. She wanted to kiss him so badly, to feel his lips on hers, and to be warm again. Memories flashed through her head of the days when she'd be dressed just like this and he'd rub her entire body like she was a supernatural goddess and he wanted to worship her. Sometimes, she'd be sore and in need of a massage to loosen up her joints. Other times, she'd fake an injury to feel his hands against her thighs and her abs, setting her nerves on fire. He missed those days too. There was nothing he wanted more than to let his hands roam over her cleavage and exposed torso, only to end his journey between her thighs.

She snapped out of her daze and pulled away from Seth's touch. She still had so much to think about but she wasn't heartless enough to leave him out in the cold. They had issues to resolve but she was exhausted in more ways than one. Their issues could wait until they both had at least 6 hours of sleep and a tall cup of coffee. "You're on the couch, Rollins. I mean it," Sasha turned back around and opened her apartment door and her life to Seth Rollins for the umpteenth time.

 _I've been waitin' up all night_

 _Baby tell me what's wrong?_

 _You're gonna make it right, make it all night long_

 _I've been waiting up all night_

 _Baby, tell me, what's wrong?_

 _Going to make it right, make it all night long_

Half an hour later, Sasha still couldn't sleep. She tried to tell herself that it was because she didn't get to go on her run but she knew that she couldn't possibly rest with Seth so close, yet so far away. Her bedroom door was open and Seth had walked by at least 3 times already under the premise of going to the bathroom but she knew better. He wanted attention and he couldn't sleep either. When he passed her door again, she called his name and he stopped in his tracks. She got a good look at him as he peered into her room. His hair was still partially wet from his shower and he didn't have on a shirt, just dark grey boxers. After seeing him so effortlessly sexy, she knew that she couldn't possibly resist his charm.

"Do you want to watch a movie, Rollins? I can't sleep," she acted nonchalant but internally, she was terrified. Seth's smile spread miles wide. He dived onto the bed and found his favorite spot laying his head on Sasha's lap. She immediately froze up, forgetting how it felt to have him around. Plus, the sexual tension was nearly unbearable for her with his face so close to her lady parts. She couldn't remember how she resisted him before but she knew she needed to figure it out soon. It was clear that nothing would happen tonight but Seth was her weakness and that wouldn't change anytime soon.

Seth picked up her remote and began to flip through Netflix on the television. He also placed Sasha's hand in his hair in attempt to get her to stop being stubborn. It worked because she started running her fingers through his locks again just like old times. Seth relaxed this time, all was well with the world.

 _What are you willing to do?_

 _Oh, tell me what you're willing to do_

 _(Kiss it, kiss it better, baby)_

 _Oh, what are you willing to do?_

 _Oh, tell me what you're willing to do_

 _(Kiss it, kiss it better, baby)_

* * *

This is the longest chapter I've ever written and I'm so sorry, it's been like two months since my last update. I didn't forget and I promise to do better, I had lost my muse for this story but I think I got it back. I appreciate every review, favorite, and follow so keep showing love to this as well as my other story "Focus" (a Neth Bellins fic). I usually don't use songs in my fanfiction but I'm a huge Rihanna fan and her new album "ANTI" gave me so much inspiration for this story. I used the song "Kiss It Better" by Rihanna in this chapter so I hope you all like it (:


	13. Chapter 13

This was awkward. Scratch that, this was really awkward. Sasha was sure the Sun was already up and she hadn't gotten a bit of sleep.

She was in bed with Seth Rollins and it wasn't even in a sexy way. She was on the left side of her bed turned on her side facing him and he was on the other side facing her. The only difference between them is that he was sleeping peacefully and Sasha couldn't help but stare at him.

Seth was still perfect to her. His facial hair, his eyes, his smirk, his everything. No matter what he never stopped being the most breathtaking man she ever laid eyes on and she worked with beautiful, fit, breathtaking men every day.

She wanted to touch him, maybe lay her hand on his chest. She wanted to spoon with him, possibly tuck herself under his chin and let him hold her. She wanted to slap him, kick him out of her bed and her life, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything.

When he was awake, Seth could be a troublemaker and a heartbreaking, selfish bastard. However, sleeping Seth was beautiful, peaceful, and intoxicatingly innocent. Sleeping Seth reminded her why she let him in the night before.

Seth stirred in his sleep, briefly opening his eyes before closing them once more. Then, he did something shocking. He slid his hand across the space between the two of them. Sasha stared at it for at least ten minutes but reluctantly put her hand in his.

He squeezed it before pulling it to his lips and kissing it and holding it against his heart and falling back asleep.

Sasha tried to pull away but he had a death grip. Eventually, she relented and just went with the flow. It was only a few more hours anyway.

* * *

Sasha woke up and rolled her head to the side to see the clock. 9 in the morning, how did she sleep so late and miss her planned 7 am jog? She looked around and saw that her curtains had been closed to prevent light from streaming in. Then, she remembered the events from earlier. It must've been Seth. Why would he do that? Just when she was about to get out of bed to investigate, she heard footsteps heading towards her bedroom and froze. Sasha decided to just lay back down and pretend to be asleep.

As soon as she did, Seth walked in wearing one of his new merchandised hoodies with no shirt, clearly he had been out for a run of his own but he also had a strange plastic box and some foil package in his hand that he quickly shoved in his backpack before she could see what it was.

He unzipped his hoodie and stripped to his boxers. Sasha gulped, it had to be a crime to be that gorgeous. He grabbed some shorts and underwear out of his bag and headed toward the bathroom. Sasha heard the shower turn on and let out the breath of air she didn't know she was holding.

She was so nervous that she'd be caught that she fought the urge to look in his bag while he was showering. 10 minutes passed and Seth stepped out of the bathroom with shorts on but no shirt. His hair was dripping so he towel dried it the best he could. Then, he just threw it in her hamper in the corner. She heard him walk into her kitchen and run some water, then he was right back in her room. He was walking toward her side of the bed so she shut her eyes again and pretended to sleep. She heard a glass being set on her night table. When she was sure he was headed back to his side, she opened her eyes. It was a white rose in a vase he had found in her cupboard.

Sasha flipped over and looked at Seth. He was sitting up leaning against the headboard and was staring off into the distance. He looked so lonely, so broken, so...defeated. She should've just gone back to sleep or perhaps she should've gotten up to go start her day. She definitely shouldn't have slid across the bed and lifted up his arm to tuck herself underneath it and curl up against his side. Yet, that's exactly what she did. Seth looked down and put his other arm around her as well. He kissed her on her forehead but didn't say anything else. They worked all day, almost every day. Staying in bed all morning wasn't a crime.

* * *

"Hey mom...yes I know I said I'd come home this break. I had something to take care of. No mom, it's not a big deal. No I don't have to tell you what it is, I am a grown man...yes I understand that you can die at anytime...no, I don't want you to have a heart attack. Fine! Do you remember that girl I was telling you about? Yes, the pretty one with the pink hair?...Wow, do you really think she's a better wrestler than I am? Anyway, back to the point, I came down here to beg for her forgiveness after what I did while I was injured and I think we just might have a chance...I don't think she's the one, I know she is…you don't even know her, how are you already on her side?...I am not a selfish, spoiled brat…Yes, I know I'm very lucky she's even considering forgiving me...Yes, I know she's very beautiful and any guy would kill to have her...Yes, I know Cousin Larry has her cardboard cutout in his room, wait WHAT?!...No I didn't try to sway her judgement with sex, I'm not that much of a whore, mom...Yes, if she lets me, I can't wait to bring her to Iowa...I love you more mom, talk to you soon, bye," Seth finally finished his phone conversation with his mother.

It was six in the evening and Seth was bored. He spent most of the day spooning with Sasha until she abruptly got up and got showered and dressed. He knew she was trying when it came to him but sometimes, she didn't want to look at him and remember all of the bad he had done.

After she'd gotten dressed, she informed him that she was going to Dave and Buster's with some of the people from NXT. She invited him to come along, wanting to see if he'd be so happy to hang out with her in public as he was to hang out in her house. That test was one he failed. He declined her invitation, citing fatigue as his reason.

In all actuality, he was scared. If he stepped out into the light with Sasha and cameras as well as their colleagues caught them, he was stuck for good. Seth was the king of running away and making excuses. He wanted life to cater to him because he felt like he worked hard enough for it. The only thing he hadn't worked hard enough for was Sasha Banks and it was a miracle that she still even spoke to him.

He promised her he'd earn her and that's what he had to do. She deserved to be loved in the light, not the shadows he had her so accustomed to at this point. The time for running was over. So what if he would be stuck? He'd be stuck with the woman of his dreams.

Seth called a cab and started to get dressed. He now had plans.

* * *

Sasha stood with Bayley and Carmella as they watched Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura play the basketball shootout game. Both of them were terrible but Finn was slightly less terrible so he was winning by a slight margin. Hideo Itami was close by and cursing at the Wheel of Fortune game in Japanese.

Sasha was happy to be surrounded by friends but she really wished Seth had come along. It felt like they were doing well but then he shut down again.

She wanted to release some steam so she split up to go play one of the shooting games. She bent over to put in her game card to pay for the game but someone jammed theirs in first.

Sasha was about to throw the world's largest fit of rage until she saw who it was. It was Seth who was grinning from ear to ear. She was about to hug the life out of him until he put his hand square in the middle of her chest and pushed her away.

"No hugs, Banks. I gotta kick your ass first," he said. They both grabbed their electronic guns and began shooting at the screens.

"I'm the Boss. Never forget that," Sasha replied before finally finishing him off. Seth put the gun down and ran his fingers through his hair. How did she win? Sasha laughed but still walked up to him and put her hands on his face.

"Thank you, Rollins," she said and ran her thumb across his cheek. She got on her tippy toes and pecked him on the lips. Seth made a mental note to start giving her whatever she wanted. Life was so much sweeter when she was happy.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun them around in a circle and she started giggling just like old times.

"Does this mean you still like me?" He asked and wiggled his eyebrows.

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Yes, I still like you, now put me down."

Seth set her down on her feet and they composed themselves before they went and found their friends. They were walking around the place looking for a familiar face when they found a photo booth. Sasha's face was pleading with him and he couldn't say no. She was always beautiful but tonight, she looked especially gorgeous. Seth didn't look too shabby himself so he figured why not.

They climbed in the cramped booth and it was kind of awkward. They had to do at least 5 different poses and it was boring to just sit there and smile the whole time.

"Follow my lead, Banks. I photograph quite nicely," Seth smirked and Sasha rolled her eyes. The camera went off at that exact moment. One down, four more to go.

For the next one, she put her hand over his mouth and smiled as he struggled. Seth got his revenge for the next one and put his hand on her forehead that he teased her about. Sasha jumped and sat in Seth's lap. He tucked his head over her shoulder for actual genuine smiles from the both of them. For the fourth pose, the camera caught them looking at each other grinning.

"Last one, baby," Seth said.

Sasha was still sitting on his lap, mesmerized by the moment. "Make it count," she whispered.

He leaned in to press his lips to hers and the camera snapped them. The photo strip was printing on the outside of the booth and they pulled apart and froze.

"Hot, hot, hot," it was the unmistakeable voice of Shinsuke Nakamura. They stepped out of the booth to see Finn, Hideo, and Shinsuke reviewing their pictures.

"You two are too pretty to be together, it's not fair to the rest of us," Finn joked.

"When you finally tell Becky how you feel about her, I'll be saying the same thing to you two. And we're not together, Seth is just my…" Sasha ran out of words to say until Seth took over.

"Person. I'm her person. She just uses me as her human pillow and to reach things on the top shelf and hopefully one day she'll turn me into a willing sex slave because I've been a really bad boy," Seth rambled and Sasha pinched him in the back.

"You two make good match. Would make even better children," Hideo said in his broken English and Sasha wanted to melt into the floor out of humiliation.

Just her luck, Bayley and Carmella found them.

"What are we looking at?" Carmella asked and Finn passed her the pictures.

"Sasha is turning Rollins into a sex slave and he's a pillow apparently," Shinsuke said.

Bayley and Carmella looked at each other, then at Sasha.

"You lucky bitch. It should be a crime to be this hot," Carmella waved the pictures in the air as she spoke.

"I would hug you but it looks like you're covered in that department," Bayley giggled.

Sasha was mortified the entire time but not Seth, he was actually having fun.

"Can we all just eat please?" Sasha seethed.

"Seth, tsk, tsk, tsk. Feisty, feisty she is," Shinsuke joked as they all walked to the restaurant portion of Dave and Buster's.

* * *

Dinner was fun and uneventful. Sasha calmed down and everyone talked and laughed. The main roster was great, but it was always fun to go back to the grassroots of NXT. They were all outside telling each other goodbye and preparing to split up into their separate cars when Seth cleared his throat.

"You guys I have an announcement. Sasha, give one of them your phone," Seth asked. Sasha was unsure of what was going on but she handed her phone to Shinsuke.

Seth looked at Shinsuke and gave him the thumbs up to record before redirecting his attention back to Sasha.

"Sasha, you know I've been annoying you for a long time now but I think it's time we make this official in front of all of our friends. You're sweeter than pie and it's such a treat to know you," Seth grinned before reaching in his pocket and bending on one knee. Sasha was about to throw up. She cared about Seth, she really did but she was not ready to marry him. She was about to open her mouth and protest when she spotted the foil package from earlier in his hand.

Sasha heard everyone around her giggle and she looked around confused. "Sasha Mercedes Banks, you're so sweet, I can feel my teeth rotting as we speak," Seth said with as straight a face possible. Sasha raised an eyebrow in confusion. He turned to the side and opened the package so she couldn't see it. "You already have pink hair so would you do me the honor and the pleasure of being my very own cotton candy?" He put a blue Ring Pop in her face and she punched him in the shoulder. She thought it was all very funny but she hated that he had her scared for a minute there. He started laughing at her facial expression.

"Well, Rollins, I suppose I could, Candyman," she smirked at him then extended her hand for him to place it on her finger. He slid it on and all of their friends cheered. Sasha walked in front of the camera and started flaunting her candy ring like she did with the ones she wore on Raw and Smackdown. "Moral of the story is that even when people try to make fun of you, real bosses always come out on top!"

"Damn girl, can you go five minutes without cutting a promo?" Seth said and she glared at him. Shinsuke stopped recording then.

"Get a room!" Hideo urged and they all laughed some more before dispersing. Soon enough, it was just Seth and Sasha outside of the building. Sasha finished uploading the video on Twitter and put her phone back in her pocket when she was finished.

"I am not always in boss mode," she said with all seriousness intended.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, gorgeous. Aside from me, of course," he smirked and she nudged him in the ribs. He slung his arm around her shoulders and she licked her candy ring.

"Let's go, Candyman," she said and they headed to her car so they could race to catch the sunset somewhere. They had one more day off, might as well enjoy every minute.

I'm back! I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I'm already working on the next chapter so you won't have to wait much longer for that either. I was swamped with school and now I'm heading to college so my schedule is much different now. I'm still invested in this story and thank you to everyone that supports this story and that waited so patiently. Seth and Sasha are so fun to write and read about. Continue to show this story love, please and thank you! Your feedback is appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14

Maybe it was the mattress but she felt like she was laying on cloud 9. Her eyes peered down. Seth was cuddled up to her like a baby with his head resting on her stomach. She wanted to shrug him off, she really did but she'd be cold if she did and at the moment, she'd much rather be under her warm comforter (and warm Seth Rollins).

"Go back to sleep, Sasha. I can hear you thinking and it's annoying as shit," Seth mumbled in his sleep as he shifted, now resting his head right below her bosom. She didn't know what to think. They were making progress, lots of progress actually. Seth had passed every test she threw his way and she was struggling internally about what to do next.

"I am not," Sasha whispered but relented, awkwardly placing her hand back into his hair to run her fingers through it. That wasn't enough for Seth, who interlocked his leg with one of hers under the covers and grabbed her hand to hold. He had an undying need to touch and feel her as much as possible and although she wasn't complaining, she'd never be able to understand why.

"I love you," he mumbled before falling back asleep, his light snoring acting as proof.

He loved her? That couldn't have been right. Seth said a lot of things but this was the first time that she'd heard him say it so clearly and directly. Then again, he was half conscious so she couldn't actually accept it as the truth. Sasha was shocked but she decided to let the matter rest for a few more hours. They both could use the sleep.

"I really hope you do," she whispered and kissed the top of his head before allowing herself to drift off again. Even though she was positive that he was out cold, she could've sworn he started holding her even tighter.

* * *

"Stop looking at me like that," Sasha asked Seth. He was eating a super late breakfast at 5:00pm consisting of toast, coffee, and orange juice on one side of Sasha's kitchen island while staring at her legs as she bent over to adjust the straps on her sandals.

"How am I looking at you, Banks?" Seth responded and leaned on the counter, propping himself up on his elbows. He was smirking and she always seemed to blush under his gaze.

"You're looking at me like I'm the most important thing in the world or something," she nervously laughed. Sasha tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

 _Because you are._ Seth knew what he wanted to say but he elected to just smile. "Of course not, I'm the most important thing in the world by far," Seth joked, causing Sasha to chuckle.

She walked over to the dishwasher to put in her now empty coffee cup. Seth came behind her while her back was turned and wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck.

Sasha tensed up immediately, and was ready to go off when Seth stopped her in her tracks.

"One minute, that's all I want, Banks. Just let me hold you for a measly sixty seconds. Please," Seth whispered into her ear and she felt her legs turning to mush but she managed to maintain composure. He was slightly annoyed with her but tried not to let it show. He knew he had messed up in the past but every time it seemed like they were moving forward, Sasha always got a harsh attitude.

"Fifty-five seconds, Rollins, not a second longer and I am counting," Sasha said.

Seth grinned and began rubbing his cheek against her neck and rubbing imaginary circles on her hips with his fingers, all while gripping her as close to him as possible. Sasha did her best to keep her breaths steady.

He still drove her crazy but there was no place she'd rather be. Sasha relaxed into his touch. Seth was really sweet, not all of the time, but when he wanted to be. The problem was that he was just stupid. He always found a way to sabotage every good thing that happened to him. What made this time different?

"I'm really happy to be here...with you," Seth said and Sasha rolled her eyes. She hated when Seth got like this because it usually meant he was about to go on a long spiel about his feelings which usually made Sasha cry tears of happiness or storm out. Sasha needed her sanity today so she decided to stop him right in his tracks.

"Time's up. Hands off," she wiggled out of his grip and grabbed her keys, cell phone, and wallet off the counter. She was already dressed in a simple t-shirt dress and sandals so there was no reason to stick around for anything. "I'm heading out, you can stay or go out, I'll be back by 7 definitely but my spare key is on that hook on the wall, take it with you if you leave so you can get back in. Do not eat everything in my kitchen. I think that's it, so bye."

Seth looked at her with a confused expression. How did she go from a teddy bear to a tiger in ten seconds flat?

"What is it, Rollins?" she asked with literally one foot out of the door already. He was about to make her late.

He said nothing. Seth gently pulled her out of the doorway and shut the door before pressing her back against it.

Sasha looked like Bambi. Her eyes were so large and confused. She didn't know what Seth was trying to do and she was in way too much shock to ask questions. He still wasn't dressed yet. He had showered but sported only sweatpants, no shirt, and wet hair.

Seth chuckled at her facial expression. Sasha looked like a cross between scared and intrigued. She had no reason to be scared of anything though, especially when he was around.

He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her into him. She gasped at his suddenness. Her body was rigid and Seth had to say that he loved seeing the great ironwoman Sasha Banks being nervous.

Seth tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "This morning, when we were in bed together," Seth said and Sasha blushed. Even though she knew nothing happened, he always had a way of making things sound so dirty. "That thing you think you heard me say, you need to stop thinking that you heard it."

Sasha's body started slightly shaking and her fists clenched. Seth basically said she was a fool to think he loved her. She was about to open her mouth to kick him out when he grabbed her hand in his and leaned in to whisper again.

"You shouldn't think you heard it, you should know that you heard it," Seth said. He slowly pulled back to look at her eyes. She gasped and was smiling at him like he was perfect and in that moment, he knew he didn't just love her. He wanted to have this girl by his side for the rest of his life.

Sasha grinned. "Okay," she said because she couldn't find any other words which was fine because Seth knew exactly what to do.

He took his other hand and placed it under her chin. He looked into her eyes for permission and saw no protest so he went for it. He pressed his lips to hers and she immediately relaxed against him. Her mouth was soft against his and he became hyperaware of everything about her from her hair that smelled like strawberries to how her body perfectly molded against his.

Seth knew he was breaking rules but at this point, he didn't even care. He wouldn't be Seth Rollins if he didn't push the envelope. His hand that wasn't in hers slid down her body until it rested on her ass. Sasha being Sasha reached behind her and pulled his hand back up until his hand was resting on her waist instead.

Seth being Seth waited a few seconds before trying again and this time, she didn't stop him. Instead, she wrapped both arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. This was really crossing every line they had drawn but neither of them cared. Seth squeezed her ass and she jumped a bit. He took that as an opportunity to pick her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist until Sasha's phone began to ring.

They stopped in their tracks and moved their attention to the floor. In the midst of their interaction, she had dropped her keys, phone, and wallet to the ground. Sasha wiggled free from where she was hoisted around Seth's waist and grabbed her phone. It was Bayley. She was coming to pick her up to have an early dinner but Sasha was now late because of Seth.

She answered the phone, quickly apologizing and assuring Bayley that she was on her way outside before hanging up. Seth picked up her keys and wallet and handed them to her. Sasha finger combed her hair to straighten it back out then grabbed her things from Seth.

"Thank you," she mumbled. Seth grinned and grabbed her face to kiss her one more time before she left. He knew he was acting like a child but he couldn't get enough of her. She didn't let him land one on her lips, instead turning her head to let him kiss her cheek.

"I'll be here when you get back, Banks," Seth said and tried to kiss her forehead but she stepped out of his reach.

"Yeah," she said before backing out of the apartment as quickly as possible. She couldn't think around Seth and she needed a drink.

* * *

"Seth. Seth Rollins is in your apartment...shirtless...and he loves you apparently?" Bayley asked as they sat in her car in the restaurant parking lot after their meal.

"Yep and we made out and I ran away from him," Sasha giggled. She was absolutely drunk off her ass and it was only 8:30 p.m. "You should've seen his eyes, it was like I broke him or something."

"But yesterday, you guys were doing so well. What happened?" Bayley asked. She was very confused. Sasha had avoided all Seth Rollins related questions while they were eating but spent about two and a half hours rambling about basically nothing, the last of those hours was spent throwing back wine like it was water.

"He happened. He's 'sweet' now," Sasha responded, emphasizing sweet with air quotes. "He's trying to lull me into a false sense of security. He comes by with his strong arms, his beautiful face with the facial hair, chiseled abs, his sweet words, and thoughtfulness and steals my heart! Then he disappears and doesn't give it back. Guess what though? Not again because this girl," Sasha put her finger on her forehead. "Is not falling for that again."

"Maybe he really loves you and wants to make it right," Bayley offered as a option.

"I don't know if I can take that risk," Sasha's demeanor changed and Bayley saw a lone tear fall from her right eye.

"Let's get you home, okay?" Bayley said encouragingly. She pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to Sasha's apartment. Sasha and Seth clearly had hugging down pact, they needed to master conversation.

"I really love him, Bales," Sasha whispered. She was falling asleep quickly.

"I know you do, Sash, I know," Bayley said.

Bayley plucked Sasha's keys from her lap and picked her up out of the car to carry her sleeping body upstairs. Sasha was extremely light so it wasn't hard to get her upstairs. With some strategic maneuvering, she was able to open the door without dropping or waking Sasha.

When she walked inside, she walked into Seth who had his backpack on his back and looked like he was leaving. His eyes bugged out of his head with concern. "W-w-what happened to her? Bayley what's wrong?" Seth started freaking out.

Bayley gently laid Sasha down on the couch then confronted Seth. "She's just drunk, the real question is what are you doing?"

Seth visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "She doesn't want me here, I don't think she can truly forgive me, Bayley. I think it's best if I just go," he said.

"Seth, she cares about you more than anyone on this planet. She's plastered right now because she's so unsure on if you're actually genuinely in it for the long run this time. If you leave right now, you'll just make her worst fears come true and I guarantee that you won't get her back again," Bayley urged.

Seth dropped his backpack to the ground on that note. "You're right."

"Of course I am. She needs you. Don't let her down. Don't let me down because if you hurt her again, I will make your knee injury seem like a papercut," Bayley deadpanned but her smile never faltered. Seth's jaw dropped in shock. "Okay bye! Have Sasha call me later!" She slapped him on the shoulder, left Sasha's keys and stuff on a chair, and left.

Seth locked the door and walked over to the couch where Sasha was laying. She looked so peaceful and he was cautious to move her but he picked her up as gently as he could and carried her to her room.

He set her down on the bed and removed her shoes from her feet one by one. Then, he slowly pulled off the t-shirt dress she was wearing. Seth had to take a step back and admire her body just for a moment. She wore just a plain heathered grey cotton bra and panties set but to him, it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. Her body was beautiful with various curves and a perky butt and thighs he was aching to touch.

Despite all of this, her face was by far her most gorgeous feature even though her mascara had ran a bit. Seth rummaged around in her dresser until he found a big shirt that she loved to sleep in which was coincidently his. He slipped it over her head and took special care to straighten it out around her frame and make sure her hair didn't get caught.

Then, he laid her directly on a pillow and pulled her covers around her. He kissed her forehead for good measure. Seth had completely forgotten why he thought he could ever leave her again.

He went in the kitchen and grabbed her a bottle of water and two aspirin before placing it on her bedside table. She'd need it when she woke up.

* * *

Sasha woke up in her bed alone. She looked at the clock and it read midnight. All she knew was that her head was killing her and she was not wearing the clothes she ate dinner in.

She was dressed comfortably and headache medicine was waiting on her patiently. Seth. It had to be him.

She took the aspirin and allowed it to settle for a moment. Then, she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth to get the alcohol out of her breath. Sasha sped up too quickly to walk to her living room and ended up stumbling in the process. She saw Seth sitting on the couch staring at the television, clearly not really processing what he was watching. It was an infomercial about cat food. Seth didn't even like cats.

She continued to stumble over to the couch and flopped down next to him. He extended his arm to offer to cuddle with her. He wasn't going to grab her or touch her if she didn't want it, even though she made it really hard to tell sometimes. Luckily, she accepted and curled up under his arm.

"My head is killing me," Sasha groaned. She was childlike at the moment. It seemed as if she was tinier than usual.

"I know it is," he replied, refusing to look at her. He was going back and forth on his decision to stay. He loved her endlessly but Sasha always did this. Sometimes she wanted to be the center of his attention, sometimes she was a stone whenever he was near her. He know he had a lot to do with it but she didn't make it very easy.

"I'm afraid of you. I'm not afraid you'll hit me or anything. I'm afraid you'll leave," she whispered. "Every time I feel like we can make it, I remember you walking away, I remember Zahra, I remember finding out you were with her one night while you were injured." She looked him in his eyes and it confirmed everything she needed to know. He looked ashamed.

"How'd you know?" He looked away when he asked her.

"She came to visit Summer during Wrestlemania weekend. The way she looked at me, Seth, she was so triumphant, so proud. She didn't need to say a word. I just knew," Sasha said in a somber tone.

"Sasha I'm so sorry, it was just a one time thing months ago, it meant nothing," he pleaded.

"I know, I know," she replied and a cold silence passed between them. They were curled up against each other but couldn't have been any further apart. Sasha broke the silence with a bombshell of her own.

"Seth, I had a baby," Sasha shared her darkest secret with him. He pulled away from her and just looked at her. He wasn't judging her at all but he was so confused. "Well I had a fetus. I was eighteen. I was homeschooled and this guy I knew invited me to his high school prom. Long story short, we had fun and I lost my virginity that night. When I found out I was pregnant, I told him, not even my own mom. Even though I should've been deathly afraid, I was so peaceful about having that baby because I felt like we were in this together, you know?" She fiddled with her fingers and took a deep breath before continuing.

"He wasn't, he told me about how he was going to college on a track scholarship and he couldn't afford any 'complications'. He left for school and never looked back. 10 weeks in, I hadn't even decided what to do with him or her yet but it didn't matter anyway. I miscarried. Then, I went after my dreams, went to wrestling school and never looked back," she finished.

"Sasha, I'm so sorry. I didn't know," Seth said. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. That explained her trust issues completely, in addition to her failure to connect with any guys (before him of course).

"No one does and I may never tell them but I told you. My brain is playing dodgeball in my skull and I know I look like shit right now but I told you all of that to give you an out. This is your get out of jail free card. If you leave, I will completely understand and I won't hold it against you," she said.

"But Sasha..," Seth started but she stopped him in his tracks.

"Let me finish. You are the light of my world. I was a career-only badass when I met you and now I'm a melting teenage girl whenever you're near me. Everything you do affects me. When you hold me, I feel safe. When you kiss me, I feel cared for. When you just talk to me, I feel complete but Seth, when you lie...gosh when you lie, when you're with someone else, when you disappear, I can't breathe, I self-destruct. So this is your chance. Leave now because I'm used to being rejected and abandoned but I swear it never gets easier," she finished pleading her case and Seth sat back against the couch in shock. This was too much information to take in at once. Sasha clearly held in all of her emotions until the dam broke and they all flooded out.

Seth was unsure and scared about a lot but he was sure of one thing. He wanted Sasha Banks for the rest of his life. The moonlight was seeping in through the blinds, dancing all over them. He turned off the tv which was rambling aimlessly.

He put his arm back around her nervous body and used the other to cover them both with a blanket he had brought to the couch. Seth tightened his grip on her and looked down into her eyes. "I wish I could erase all the pain in your life from your past, from me, but I can't but what I can say is that I am here to stay and Sasha Mercedes Banks, you are mine and I belong to you completely, heart, mind, soul, and nether regions," he said and they both chuckled at the last part. He leaned down and captured her lips in a sweet and delicate kiss. She smiled into it and he did too. He laid his forehead against hers. "Okay?"

She grabbed his hand under the blanket and held it in hers, squeezing gently. "Okay."

* * *

Bombshell and I updated within the week yayyy! I went back and forth writing this chapter but I hope it turned out okay. Thank all of your for your support and continue to support it! Next chapter, they're going back to work. See you next update!


	15. Chapter 15

"Seth, thank you for joining me today for a chat," Michael Cole said.

"Thank you for inviting me, Michael," Seth smiled.

"Let's get right to it. Ever since The Shield has reunited, you three, excuse me, you four have taken the WWE by storm. How does it feel to be back with your family here in the WWE?" Cole asked.

"Honestly, it feels amazing. Words can't describe it. What we're doing now is making history all over again. When I went rogue the first time, I did it because I thought I couldn't be The Man while still being in The Shield. But now, I realized friendship, better yet family makes me stronger. I became WWE Champion on my first night back. Roman beat John Cena at Wrestlemania to be the United States Champion. Dean went through hell with Kevin Owens to win the Intercontinental Championship. Sasha Banks is the greatest female wrestler of our generation. This is fate. We were meant to be a team. I'm not saying we'll be tagging for the result of our careers but what I do know is when we work together, magic happens. I get to go out there every night and be the champ and fight alongside my brothers and Sasha. Life couldn't be any better man," Seth said. He couldn't help but smile. That wasn't a character talking, that was truly how he felt.

"Speaking of Sasha, she's the newest member of the Shield. Is it safe to say she's kind of the little sister of the group?" Michael inquired.

"Eh you could say that. Dean and Roman see her as that little sister they never had," Seth replied.

"Well, what do you see her as? What does she add to The Shield dynamic?" Cole asked.

Seth took a few moments to think before he carefully formed his words. "She doesn't add anything. Sasha Banks is the dynamic. She doesn't care what it takes, she doesn't care if seven foot giants are staring her in the face, she's willing to go to war with anyone. She has that spark that we lost for so long. She really is The Boss. When I was my most pompous and self-centered self, she pulled my head out of my ass and reminded me what was most important. She's not as good as she says she is. She's even better. My brothers had a spell when we first talked about reuniting where they couldn't forgive me and gave me the cold shoulder. But Sasha, she just commands authority and forced us to pull it together. She's not a manager or a valet, she's just as much a part of The Shield as me or Dean or Roman. She's always down for a fight and she's always hungry to prove herself which is the principle The Shield was built on. We may be the Hounds but she is definitely The Boss", Seth ended his lengthy character analysis on Sasha.

"Well Seth, that is some very high praise on your end and obviously, well deserved but are there any worries that having her around could be considered a weakness for your group, considering your history for being so hard hitting and aggressive? What if she happened to get hurt?" Cole asked.

"There is no one on planet Earth that I trust more than Sasha Banks. She knows what she's doing at all times. Come what may, she may be small but she is so powerful and you can bank on that," Seth closed with that.

* * *

"Awwwww, isn't that sweet? Little wittle Seth can't stop talking about Sasha! Isn't that great everyone? Yesssss!" Stephanie McMahon squealed in mock excitement after she interrupted Sasha's post match victory celebration by playing Seth's interview with Michael Cole from earlier.

Sasha snatched a mic from Lilian. She didn't mean to but she was pissed. "What does that have to do with anything Stephanie?"

"Touchy, touchy. Can't I just congratulate you? That was really some high praise. Clearly, somebody thinks very highly of you," Steph continued to press as she walked down the ramp and into the ring.

Sasha got even angrier and stepped into Stephanie's face. "Cut the crap, rich girl. I just beat a former champion for the 3rd week in a row. I just pinned Paige, 1, 2, 3. I want Charlotte. I want the Women's Championship. I haven't been pinned since I got called up and they damn sure can't get me to tap out. Where the hell is my title shot?" Sasha screamed.

"Sheesh, Rollins isn't just 'The Man', he must be 'your man' too. But you're right, Sasha, you do deserve a title shot. That's exactly why I'm out here because as you know, I always do what's best for business," Stephanie smirked and at that moment, Charlotte came up from behind Sasha and cracked her in the skull with her Women's Championship title belt. Sasha fell out on the ground and the crowd was booing to the max.

Charlotte yanked Sasha to her knees and held her chin so Stephanie could berate her. "Did you really think you could slap me and get away with it? No, I'm the COO of this damn company and I do the damn slapping. Thanks to your little boyfriend, I've learned my lesson about placing the future of this company in fickle men. No, no, TRUE power comes from women, particularly ones that are genetically superior such as Charlotte and myself."

"Does it bother you that you're the only one in The Shield who doesn't have a championship? Does it kill you that you were all the rage in the minor leagues but never could seem to capture the big one with the big dogs? You will get your title match at Summerslam and it will be in a 2 out of 3 falls match," Stephanie cackled as Charlotte tightened her grip on Sasha's hair for good measure.

Stephanie slapped Sasha clear across her face to add to the damage. "Oh and Sasha? I'm being generous because I'm a nice person. I'll leave your two baboon brothers out of this but you tell Seth Rollins that I hope he trusts you as much as he says does because if you lose your match at Summerslam, he will forfeit his WWE Championship and you can bank on that!" Stephanie said.

Charlotte dropped Sasha and raised Stephanie's hand in victory. The commentators repeatedly asked the question of where were the men of The Shield when Sasha got ambushed. Suddenly, the camera panned to backstage where Dean, Roman, and Seth were laid out by gorilla position and knocked out cold but their attackers were nowhere to be found. Charlotte and Stephanie continued to parade around the ring and out of it as RAW went off air.

* * *

"That was...," Sasha trailed off.

"Completely fucking cool," Dean exclaimed.

"Aside from the part about Seth not being able to do an interview without gushing about Banks so Creative turned it into a warped power struggle-love story," Roman added and Sasha blushed. She hadn't really talked to Seth since their two days in seclusion. Ever since they came back to work, it's been all about The Shield and their plans moving forward towards Summerslam.

It looked like Sasha would be finally able to capture the newly renamed and refined Women's Championship but she thought the same thing at Wrestlemania so she gave up on getting her hopes up. It wasn't everyday that The Shield got involved in a Women's Title angle but this was a home run with the fans.

"Speaking of Seth, where is he?" Sasha asked and tried not to act too interested.

"I'm right here, Sasha. Great job out there tonight," Seth said out of nowhere and he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her gently like it was the most natural thing in the world. Sasha gasped and touched her lips when he pulled away. He saw her cold facial expression and quickly looked for an out. He was so embarrassed. Clearly, he was up for too much, way too soon. Life was so different outside of their little island. "Crap, I have to go talk to Hunter. See you later guys," Seth nodded his head and sped off.

"What did you do to him? He's domestic. He's monogamous. He's a puppy. It's almost like he's married. Are you two finally official?" Dean pestered.

"No. I don't know. I gave him an out. I told him all the bad things about me that I had to tell. I gave him an out and he hasn't gotten scared or discouraged yet. This is different," Sasha told them while holding her forehead in her palm.

"Good different or bad different?" Roman asked.

"Different different but I like it as long as it doesn't change but knowing Seth...," Sasha trailed off one more.

"Knowing Seth, the whole world now knows that the man is head over heels for you. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. You're like his other half, he doesn't know how to function without your approval anymore. You make him better, he's learning that, slowly of course, but surely," Dean said and Sasha smiled to herself. That was all the confirmation she needed.

She began to walk off. "Where you going, Sasha?" Roman asked.

"Fiction or not, Stephanie was right. Seth is The Man and I think I'm just now realizing how lucky I am that he's my man as well," she smirked before breaking out into a sprint and finding Seth's locker room he shared with Dean and Roman. She knew he didn't have a meeting with Hunter.

She caught him stuffing things into his bag violently until she wrapped her arms around him from behind to keep his arms still. He groaned.

"What do you want, Sasha? I think you made it clear how you felt," he tried to shake free of her but couldn't.

"No, I didn't. I gave you an out and you didn't take it. I thought it was a fluke, maybe you only just wanted to be nice after I drunkenly poured out my heart to you. But Seth, when I saw that interview on the Titantron after my match, I almost fell apart thinking about how it may actually possible that you meant every word you said about me, not just as a character but as yourself. Yes, you are The Man but if you'd still have me, I'd like you to be my man too. I am in this. I will stop fighting you. I will stop fighting us. I promise," Sasha propositioned and let him go, wanting him to make his own decision.

"Gosh, Sasha you are aggravating as shit like ughhhhh. I can't stand you. Of course, I meant it. I look like a love struck dork ON TELEVISION! All for you!" Seth screamed. Sasha felt like her heart was about to shatter until he grabbed her face and kissed her. "All for you, Sasha Banks and I'll do it again and again and again..," Seth kissed all over her face and neck between words causing her to giggle.

"And yes I am The Man," Seth smirked until he heard groans from the doorway. Several of their colleagues including Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Charlotte, and various other Superstars were watching Seth and Sasha's verbal exchange. "You all are so damn nosy. ANYWAY!" Seth said very loudly. "I am The Man but it would be my greatest honor to be your man if you'd finally just be my damn girlfriend already," Seth asked and their friends began to pressure her from the doorway.

"Don't do it, Sasha. Never trust a guy with two hair colors," Dean yelled and Roman elbowed him in the ribs. Everyone started laughing.

"Seth, I think I've been your girlfriend for a long time but you'll never know how much it means to me that you actually asked. Yes, yes, yes," Sasha giggled and beamed at him and allowed him to kiss her again, this time picking her up off her feet. This moment, even if it was only just a moment, was a true matter of bliss.

* * *

This was short but a lot happened, I wanted to establish their Summerslam storyline going forward. This story will be between 18 and 20 chapters long and I am having so much fun writing it. Thank you to everyone who reviews and supports! I'm trying to better with updating in a timely fashion so just bear with me guys. Continue to support, thanks!


	16. Chapter 16

Things went well for Seth and Sasha for a while after they made it official. The entire locker room seemed very happy for them and the occasional haters were promptly ignored.

"What are you doing?" Sasha asked Seth before their tag team match that night. He was sitting on a production crate, fiddling around on his phone. She draped her arms around his neck from behind and buried her face in his neck.

"I'm on Facebook Live talking to some fans about Summerslam. The little trolls can't go a second without me," Seth smirked.

Sasha looked at the comments from the stream, fans were freaking out because she appeared. Most of the comments asked if they were a couple and how much everyone shipped "Sesha Ballins".

They hadn't discussed if they were ready to go public yet so she slowly stepped back from Seth and smiled into the camera.

"I have some Boss duties to intend to. I'm going to return Mr. Rollins back to you guys," she smirked and flashed her Boss rings before attempting to walk away. Seth grabbed her wrist and decided to kiss her cheek which was just enough to make the fans go wild. Sasha's skin felt like it was on fire. She rolled her eyes and finally walked away, holding her cheek and grinning like an idiot.

She heard Seth in the background still talking to fans. He said, "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think she liked me or something." She heard him laugh and she couldn't help but laugh too. Seth was anything but boring.

* * *

"Sasha and Seth are going to fly! Twin suicide dives, oh my God!" Michael Cole commentated in the main event of Raw. Sasha and Seth were going up against Charlotte and AJ Styles in the last Raw before their respective singles title matches at Summerslam. Roman and Dean would be fighting Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson at Summerslam in a tag team match but for Raw, they were at ringside for support. It had been revealed that The Club was responsible for the backstage beatdown of The Shield two weeks before and that they had aligned themselves with Charlotte and Stephanie McMahon.

Seth recovered first and rolled AJ back into the ring while Sasha regained her bearings on the outside. Seth covered AJ for a 3-count but the pin was broken up by Anderson and Gallows whose interference ended the match via disqualification. Roman and Dean rushed into the ring even up the odds while Sasha continued to handle Charlotte on the outside.

AJ escaped the ring and managed to grab two chairs, throwing to Anderson and keeping the other for himself. He slid back into the ring and hit Seth from behind with the cold steel. Anderson did the same to Dean and to Roman right afterwards. Sasha was momentarily distracted by seeing Seth fall in the ring via chair shot. Charlotte took that as an opportunity to catch Sasha with a big boot to the face. Then, she went under the ring and found a kendo stick and used it to hit Sasha repeatedly until it finally broke in half.

She picked up Sasha's limp body and pushed her back in the ring, laying her right next to Seth and the other members of the Shield. The Club and Charlotte raised each other's hands in victory as RAW went off air.

* * *

"You were great out there, Seth. You never seem to disappoint," Sasha watched the new interviewer Charly Caruso congratulate Seth in a flirty way from all the way down the hall. She wasn't trying to be creepy or to spy but she had just come back from talking to Hunter and wanted to find Seth to share what she had been told. All Seth seemed to say back to Charly was thank you with shy smile.

After Charly walked off, Sasha tried to let it go. Seth didn't do anything wrong, nothing happened so there was no reason to panic. Then, the new girl from NXT a.k.a the Tough Enough runner up Mandy Rose, came out of nowhere and gave Seth a huge hug and he happily obliged. Sasha couldn't quite make out what they were saying but all she saw was laughing and smiling and talking extremely fast.

Mandy was beautiful with golden hair, model good looks, and a body that looked absolutely effortless, the precise reason that her gimmick was the Golden Goddess. That type of beauty was impossible to ignore. She could understand if Seth wanted to leave her for someone like Mandy. That didn't make it hurt any less though. She looked over at Seth one more time, they were still laughing and Seth now had his arm around Mandy.

Sasha was fed up. It was one thing to flirt with other girls but to do it so publically and blatantly was just cruel. Sasha mustered up the courage to walk over there and give Seth a piece of her mind. She stomped over there with her arms folded over her chest, still in her ring gear. Before she could say a word, she got tackled with a hug from Mandy.

"Oh my gosh, you're really Sasha Banks. I've heard so much about you. Seth will not shut up about how fabulous his girlfriend is," Mandy beamed at her and Sasha smiled back awkwardly, now very confused.

"I didn't know you two were close, Mandy," she replied, trying not to sound accusatory.

"I met Seth at the Performance Center. His exact words were 'we both carry the burden of being unbearably beautiful so we're either soulmates or long lost twins and I already found my soulmate so let's go with the latter'. He helps me train whenever he's at the PC plus he introduced me to Dean and Roman and listens to me complain about life and boys. I guess you can call him the annoying big brother I never wanted," Mandy laughed and Sasha couldn't help but laugh.

Sasha walked over to Seth and kissed him on the lips to his surprise. "That sounds like the Seth I know and love. We're going to have to exchange stories some time," Sasha giggled. She was so relieved and the soulmate comment melted her heart. She also felt a bit guilty for not trusting Seth in the first place.

"Don't listen to anything Mandy Dandy Notebook has to say Sash, we're so much alike it's scary, including our love for theatrics," Seth said. Internally, he was jumping for joy that two of his favorite people were getting along. He had never introduced Sasha to Mandy to begin with because he had no idea how Sasha would react.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" Mandy growled and punched him in the shoulder. Sasha smiled at the both of them. It was fun to see this side of Seth, not the flirt, not The Man, but a big brother figure selfless enough to take someone under his ring and share his wide wealth of knowledge of both wrestling and life itself. She liked Mandy, she clearly knew how to keep Seth in check. After all, it does take a village.

* * *

"Go ahead and say it," Seth smirked as they headed out of the arena, wheeling suitcases behind them.

"Say what?" Sasha asked as she popped open the trunk of the rental car.

"Say sorry. You totally thought that Mandy and I were a thing," Seth continued smirking as he loaded their stuff in the car.

"I did not. I have total faith in you," Sasha lied, wishing that Seth couldn't always see right through her.

"Yeah, right. I saw your face before Mandy hugged you. You were about to explode and that little vein in your forehead was throbbing," Seth laughed. They were in the car, Sasha in the passenger's side and Seth in the driver's seat. She rolled her eyes, ready to leave already.

"Fine, I was jealous. Can we just go now please?" Sasha told him, refusing to make eye contact.

He grabbed her chin and turned her face to look at him. "Having you there to even get jealous over me is a blessing in itself. Mandy's going to tease me for weeks over this. Sasha, I love you. Only you. Always you," he said calmly and she sighed.

"Seth, I'm sorry. I just got so insecure when I saw Charly talking to you, then I saw Mandy and I just felt myself about to snap. I should've trusted you," she mumbled.

"I think this may be the first time you've ever apologized to me, Banks," Seth chuckled and she started sulking again, folding her arms over her chest. He grabbed one of her hands and held it in his. "Hey, hey, calm down. Babe, we're good. I'm happy with you. I love you. You agreed to be my girlfriend so you're kinda stuck with me now. Okay?" He asked.

A huge smile broke out on Sasha's face against her will. "Okay." She leaned over and kissed him sweetly for a few moments before settling back in her seat. "Now drive, Rollins."

"You got it, Boss," he grinned as they headed out of the parking lot. Life with Sasha was never boring and he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Sorry this was so late. I got so sidetracked with college, but I wanted to definitely update this before Christmas. I love writing this story and it has about two chapters left. I'll be updating Focus soon as well. The first part of this chapter was inspired by the Twitter love between Seth and Sasha. Thank you to everyone who supports this story. Continue to read and review!


	17. Chapter 17

"I'm exhausted," Sasha flopped down onto the bed in her hotel room. She had just finished a grueling day of Summerslam Axxess and wanted nothing more than to sleep for days. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Sasha groaned, dragging herself up to answer it.

She opened the door and Seth awaited her on the other side. "Hey babe, I was hoping I'd catch you before you fell asleep," he said, inviting himself in and kissing her on the lips in greeting.

Sasha found herself grinning and wrapping her arms around his torso. He made her feel giddy like a kid, it was insane. "Well you have perfect timing,"

she smirked and he tackled her to the bed.

"I do, don't I?" Seth asked with a devious expression before straddling her and placing feather light kisses up and down her neck and down the low cut blouse she wore.

"You're so vain," she rolled her eyes but relaxed into his touch. Her phone which was laying on the bed buzzed and Seth saw the name that popped up from the corner of his eye.

"Why is TJP texting you?" Seth asked as he rolled off of her.

"We're talking about anime," Sasha replied and sat up next to him.

"Oh okay," he mumbled and refused to make eye contact. "You two seem to have a lot in common."

"Oh my gosh, Seth are you jealous?" Sasha asked him and he wouldn't give an answer. "Aw you are, Seth, babe look at me." He looked at her and she was grinning as she grabbed his face. "We talk about anime and video games and Japanese wrestling. That's really it. You on the other hand, are my best friend and my extremely handsome boyfriend who's even cuter when he's jealous. There's no competition, I'm all yours, okay?" Sasha told him and sealed it with a sweet kiss.

Seth blushed and sheepishly mumbled yes. Sasha sighed in relief and fell backwards onto a pillow again. "Good, now that you're done being a diva, I'm going to sleep, Rollins," she exclaimed.

Seth turned the lights off and climbed next to her and rested his head on her torso before pulling a blanket over them both. "I love you, Sasha," he whispered.

She stretched her arm out and pulled him closer to her. "I know you do," Sasha replied, allowing herself to finally just rest in yet another perfect moment with the love of her life.

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Seth said as The Shield sat on production crates before Sasha's match with Charlotte which was going on last as the main event.

"No, I'm not. This is the most important match of my career but I'm not afraid, I was born to do this. For you, for us. I got this, Rollins," she leaned into his touch before stepping back and smiling, offering out her fist and her boys grinned in return, thrusting theirs out as well.

"Now go kick some blonde, spoiled rich girl ass, Sash," Dean said causing all of them to laugh as the screen cut to the video package hyping up Charlotte and Sasha's match up next.

The cameras were off and they were all hanging around in silence waiting for Sasha to go to gorilla in less than two minutes.

Sasha had ended up sitting next to Seth with her head on his shoulder somehow and his hand rested on her knee. She felt his beard against her face, meaning he was looking down at her. She looked up to meet his gaze and started laughing uncontrollably. He started laughing too and Dean and Roman gave them strange looks but didn't interrupt.

Sasha grabbed his cheek suddenly and laid a quick kiss to his lips which took him by surprise.

"Not that I'm complaining but what was that for, babe?" Seth joked.

"It was because I love you, moron," she said and Seth's face broke into a big grin. That was the first time she had ever said those three words to him and he knew he'd never deserve it but he would do everything in his power to be deserving. Before he could even respond, a stage hand told Sasha she needed to be at gorilla in one minute and he didn't even have a chance to react before she kissed him on his forehead and walked away.

* * *

Sasha climbed to the top rope, aiming for a frog splash in homage to Eddie Guerrero when Karl Anderson pulled her leg as Luke Gallows distracted the referee, sending her crashing to the mat. Seth had already defeated AJ Styles earlier in the night but the stipulation was that even if he successfully defended his title once tonight, if Sasha lost to Charlotte, he'd lose the WWE Championship as well.

To further stack the deck against Sasha, Stephanie banned Seth, Dean, and Roman from ringside. The camera occasionally panned to backstage where the men of The Shield were visibly pacing and stressed out. Each woman had already scored one fall each and the next one would decide who would be the champion.

Sasha writhed on the ground in pain, trying to rethink a new course of action. Charlotte was showboating around the ring, bragging about how easy it was to beat Sasha and let out a big "Wooooo". She stalked Sasha for a few moments, waiting for her to try to get up so she could hit her with a devastating Natural Selection.

Sasha could feel Charlotte coming up behind her and tried to think quickly. She knew she couldn't roll outside of the ring because The Club would try to interfere with this match even further. She couldn't sit up in the middle of the ring because she knew Charlotte was ready to pounce. Instead, Sasha slid over to the turnbuckle knowing Charlotte would follow behind her. She quickly moved out of the way and elbowed Charlotte into the corner before setting up her trademark double knees to the midsection and promptly delivered the move.

Sasha dragged her out of the corner by her leg and Charlotte kicked her in the stomach before running the ropes and planning to hit Sasha with a big boot to the face. Sasha caught her leg before she could connect. "Uh uh sister," Sasha smirked and kicked Charlotte in the ankle that wasn't in the air. Charlotte fell to her knees and Sasha ran the ropes herself, this time hitting Charlotte with Natural Selection, putting her in the Bank Statement immediately afterwards.

Charlotte screamed for a few moments before finally tapping out. The crowd erupted in glee. Sasha released her and sat up on her knees and just ran her fingers through her hair. The referee handed her the Women's Championship and she held it to her chest and cried. She looked at the ramp and saw Charlotte and The Club hobbling away angrily. Then, she saw Dean and Roman running down the ramp while Seth decided to take his time and just walk.

Dean and Roman slid into the ring and crowded around Sasha, showering her with hugs and kisses to the forehead before hoisting her up on their shoulders and letting her celebrate with the sold out crowd that was on their feet in excitement over their fan favorite winning her first Women's Championship.

When they finally faced the ramp again, Seth was already in the ring and he was staring straight into Sasha's soul. Sasha told the guys to put her down and they did and stood off to the sides. Sasha leaned over the ropes and grabbed the WWE championship from the title belt was held at ringside in case Sasha lost and the championship would automatically be vacated. Holding her newly won Womens Championship in one hand, with the other she outstretched her hand to hand Seth his title back. The plan was for all of them to stand together and hold their titles in the air for a feel good moment before the show went off. However, Seth hadn't moved a muscle. He just kept alternating between looking at her and the belt.

"Seth, you okay?" Sasha whispered, biting her lip nervously.

Instantly, he snapped out of his trance and snatched the belt from her hand, eyeing it for a few moments before dropping it to the ground and grabbing her by the waist. She looked at him wide eyed, unsure of what he was doing but kind of excited to find out. After all, millions of people were watching and this wasn't a part of the plan.

Seth just smiled and leaned down to kiss her and she met him halfway. The crowd erupted in cheers and catcalls and they could faintly hear Dean saying "Get a room" as Roman laughed. Sasha wrapped her arms around her neck, careful not to drop her title and Seth lifted her in the air. They finally pulled apart, grinning at each other like two kids.

"I love you, Banks," Seth said and Sasha mouthed the words back, trying not to cry. She couldn't believe this moment could get anymore perfect. He put her down and picked his championship back up, resting it on his shoulder and slung an arm around her shoulders as Dean and Roman joined them once more, their titles strapped around their waists.

Sasha couldn't stop smiling. The cheers were nearly deafening. The audience had assumed they were together weeks ago but this blatant declaration and confirmation of affection between two of the internet wrestling community's most beloved wrestlers was an awesome sight. The Shield now controlled every singles title in the WWE and it was unclear if they could ever be stopped.

Seth and Roman raised Sasha's arms in victory one more time and Dean mimicked bowing to a Queen before the three guys left the ring to allow her to celebrate one last time Sasha raised her title in the air and started crying again as the show faded to black. Due to the adrenaline, she hadn't really realized the toll that match had taken on her body. Sasha rolled out of the ring and touched the hands of as many fans as she could while limping up the ramp.

As soon as she got through the curtain, the first person she saw was Triple H. She was afraid he was going to be mad about her and Seth going off script but Hunter just wrapped her up in a huge hug and she began crying even harder. Eventually, she slowed down enough to take the standard picture every NXT graduate took with Hunter when they won the big next person to approach her was Charlotte and there were no words that needed to be said between them. They always tore the house down and on that night, they got to main event Summerslam. Sasha was so short compared to Charlotte, whenever they hugged, she looked like she could be her daughter even though Sasha was more like her little sister.

When Charlotte released her, Sasha noticed that everyone was standing around with their phones out. They were all grinning and staring at her. Sasha had a confused look on her face. "Stephanie? What's going on? What are they recording? Why are you all smiling? Bayley, you too?" She asked a million questions but no one would speak up, they just kept smiling.

"I'm afraid that's my fault Banks. They heard I was just trying to add some more bling to your collection tonight and I guess they just want to be apart of it," Seth said from behind her and she turned around and immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. He had scared her, she figured he was in the locker room somewhere.

"Seth, what the hell? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Sasha said, slapping him on the chest and he winced but remained undeterred.

"I realized that one day we're not going to hold these titles and one day, we won't be able to wrestle anymore and I'm finally okay with that because I've finally found something that I love more than this business and that's you. You are the championship that I want to hold for the rest of my life and I don't deserve you and I know it but it would be my honor to spend every day for the rest of my life trying to be worthy of your heart," Seth said and Sasha didn't even realize she was crying again.

"What are you saying?" She asked, unsure of where this declaration was going.

"I'm saying that I've done one of these before for you but l was just joking around. This time let me be perfectly clear," Seth grinned before grabbing a box out of Dean's hand and getting down on one knee. Sasha could get the gasps and excited whispers from the crowd that formed around them but in that moment she was completely focused on Seth. "I have loved you since that night in Brooklyn where you wrote your number on my hand and walked away with so much confidence, not even knowing that you took my heart with you. I didn't always do right by you but I changed, you changed me and it's only right I do this in Brooklyn where it all began. I'm nervous as hell because you have every right to say no but just so you know, this is being recorded and if you reject me in front of all our friends, my reputation is a goner." Everyone laughed at that including Sasha who wasn't crying anymore but smiling uncontrollably. Seth finally opened the box and revealed a large diamond ring with a platinum band. "Sasha, babe, my bestfriend, my partner in crime, my headache, the reason I smile, will you submit yourself to an eternity of my tomfoolery and please marry me?"

Sasha lightly placed her hand on his cheek and bent down to kiss him gently for a few moments before standing back up. "I mean that's a tall order but I think I'm up for it. Yes, Rollins, I'd love to be your wife," Sasha replied and everyone cheered as Seth slipped the ring on her finger right before jumping up and wrapping her up in his arms and showering her face with kisses. On another perfect night in Brooklyn, Seth finally got it right.

* * *

Sorry for being so late but there's probably 1 or 2 more chapters left. This one is really sweet and happy because I feel like they've earned it lol but I've really enjoyed writing this story. As always, read and review!


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